US Navy Boards Ship In Arabian Sea, Finds Iran-made Weapons - Central Command

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 14th February, 2020) The US Navy boarded a ship in the Arabian Sea and found a large cache of Iranian-made weapons, including 150 sophisticated anti-tank missiles, the Defense Department said in a statement on Thursday.

"On Feb. 9, 2020, USS Normandy, while conducting maritime security operations in the US Central Command area of operations, boarded a dhow in accordance with international law and discovered a large cache of weapons," the statement said.

According to the US military, the cargo included 150 "Dehlavieh" anti-tank guided missiles, Iranian-manufactured copies of Russian Kornet ATGMs.

"Other weapons components seized aboard the dhow were of Iranian design and manufacture and included three Iranian surface-to-air missiles, Iranian thermal imaging weapon scopes, and Iranian components for unmanned aerial and surface vessels, as well as other munitions and advanced weapons parts," the statement said.

The US military did not elaborate on the origin and destination of the cargo, apart from noting its resemblance to weaponry intercepted in the Arabian Sea last November, presumably en route from Iran to the Houthi rebels in Yemen in violation of a UN Security Council resolution.