U.S. Navy Seizes Over 2,000 AK-47s Shipped from Iran

The U.S. Navy seized over 2,000 AK-47 assault weapons from a fishing boat intercepted in Gulf of Oman. It appeared that the rifles were being shipped from Iran to support civil war in Yemen.

The USS Chinook, a Navy boarding vessel, discovered 2116 rifles on the boat. They were seized by USS Monsoon (USS The Sullivans) personnel. According to A Navy press release.

Six Yemeni nationals were on board the vessel, sailing along a route that is commonly used to trade illicit cargo from Iran into Yemen. Iran supports the Houthi rebel movement in Yemen’s civil war, which has lasted eight years and is considered among the world’s worst humanitarian crises.

“This shipment is part of a continued pattern of destabilizing activity from Iran,” Vice Adm. Brad Cooper was the commander of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command and U.S. 5th Fleet, and Combined Maritime Forces. “These threats have our attention. We remain vigilant in detecting any maritime activity that impedes freedom of navigation or compromises regional security.”

The Fifth Fleet is the Navy’s presence in the Middle East, and it’s intensifying efforts to break up Iranian smuggling, According to Al-Monitor.

According to the release Fifth Fleet forces also intercepted lethal assistance from Iran to Yemen on two additional fishing boats in Gulf of Oman within the past two-months.

More than 50 tons worth of ammunition, fuse and propellants to rockets were taken by the forces from USS Lewis B. Puller, an expeditionary sea base. Two Navy ships and a Coast Guard boat intercepted over 70 tons ammonium perchlorate on Nov. 8. This fuel is used for rocket and missile development.

These efforts have been met with resistance. A patrol boat of Iranian military personnel was launched in December. came “dangerously close” They shined bright lights at two Navy ships in the Strait of Hormuz. In the Strait of Hormuz were also speedboats armed with Iranian weapons A pair of U.S. Warships was harassed For an hour during the summer, I charged a U.S. Ship head-on for one hour.