The United States has identified and charged four foreign nationals with shipping Iranian-made weapons to Yemen, where the Houthis are attacking ships in the Red Sea. The shipment was intercepted recently in a successful Navy SEALS operation off the coast of Somalia, an African country near Yemen.
The Houthis are a Shiite group that has been attacking commercial shipping ships since November. In recent activity, they have even hijacked a vessel and sunk another in the last week. The U.S. has been fighting them since January to undermine their warfare capabilities, which are believed to be funded by Iran.
David Cameron, the U.K. foreign secretary, held Iran directly responsible for the attacks in the Red Sea. The diplomat revealed a conversation he had with his Iranian counterpart on the issue in December.
"I spoke to Amir Abdolahian today about Houthi attacks in the Red Sea, which threaten innocent lives and the global economy. I made clear that Iran shares responsibility for preventing these attacks given their long-standing support to the Houthis," he wrote on his X account, formerly known as Twitter.
"They endanger the security of the United States and our allies"
As for the accused foreign nationals, the Justice Department identified Muhammad Pahlawan, Mohammad Mazhar, Ghufran Ullah and Izhar Muhammad. According to U.S. authorities, they allegedly provided false information to Coast Guard agents.
Pahlawan was also accused of illegally transporting a warhead knowing that it would end up with the Houthis. In the words of Matthew Olsen, assistant attorney general for national security at the Department of Justice, "[he] attempted to smuggle advanced missile components, including a warhead, to Houthi rebels for use against cargo ships and U.S. vessels."
"The Justice Department, together with U.S. agency partners, is working tirelessly to deny malign actors the means to threaten international shipping and imperil the lives of our men and women in uniform," he added in a statement.
Attorney General Merrick Garland assured that the United States "will use every legal authority to hold accountable those who facilitate the flow of weapons from Iran to Houthi rebel forces, Hamas, and other groups that endanger the security of the United States and our allies."
