A large shipment of confiscated weapons intended for Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen was delivered to the Ukrainian military, the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) reported on April 9.
Over 5,000 AK-47s, machine guns, sniper rifles, RPG-7s, and 500,000 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition were sent to Ukraine. This new materiel is enough to "equip one UKR BDE with small arms rifles."
The U.S. government reportedly seized the munitions from four separate stateless vessels that were being transferred from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to the Houthis in Yemen between May 2021 and Feb. 2023.
Late last year, CENTCOM delivered over a million rounds of 7.62mm ammunition to Ukraine that were confiscated from the IRGC.
Like the shipment announced today, the munitions were seized as part of a civil forfeiture claim against the IRGC. The transfer violated United Nations Security Council Resolution 2216, which aimed to prevent the flow of arms to the war in Yemen.
The statement emphasized that U.S. CENTCOM "will continue to do whatever we can to shed light on and stop Iran’s destabilizing activities."
Tehran and Moscow have deepened their military and political cooperation since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Iran has provided Russia with thousands of Shahed kamikaze drones used in airstrikes against Ukraine and has helped Moscow build a drone factory in Russia.
In February, Reuters reported that Iran had already sent 400 ballistic missiles to Russia. Ukrainian authorities have not confirmed this claim.
Nate Ostiller
