Arab coalition seizes Iranian ship carrying weapons to Houthis

The Saudi-led coalition has foiled an attempt by an Iranian fishing boat to smuggle weapons to the Houthis, the commander of the forces revealed in a statement yesterday.

On Saturday at 1pm the coalition seized an Iranian ship 150 miles south-east of the Omani city of Salalah, the statement said.

The ship was carrying 14 Iranians and was led by Captain Bakhsh Jetkal and was carrying a number of missiles and rockets which were seized.

The statement pointed out that the seized weapons included anti-tank shells and rockets, shells and batteries, fire-steering systems, binoculars and launchers bases.

The statement explained that the ship is registered in the name of an Iranian man called Hogan Mohammed Hout; and the ship’s documents indicate that it is valid for fishing, and it holds a license from the Iranian authorities. The documents also indicate that the ship was checked by the Ports and Customs Organisation in Sistan-Baluchistan province and was granted a license to sail in fishing area.

This is the first time that the coalition forces announced the thwarting of a smuggling attempt of Iranian weapons to the Houthis since the start of Operation Decisive Storm on 26 March.

On 21 April, the Saudi-led Arab coalition, which comprises all the Gulf states except Oman, announced the end of Operation Decisive Storm, which was launched on 26 March, and the start of the Operation Restore Hope, whose goal is the resumption of the political process in Yemen.