The US Fifth Fleet Command said that the US Navy forces in the Middle East intercepted - the day before yesterday, Thursday - a fishing vessel that was smuggling more than 50 tons of ammunition, fuses and missile fuel in the Gulf of Oman, along a sea route from Iran to Yemen.
The Fleet Command added - in a statement issued today, Saturday - that "Navy personnel, operating from the Lewis P. Puller Naval Expeditionary Base, discovered the illegal shipment during the flag verification process, and it represents the second largest seizure of illegal weapons by the US Fifth Fleet within a month." ".
The US military stated that the shipment includes more than one million rounds of 7.62mm ammunition, 25,000 rounds of 12.7mm, nearly 7,000 detonators for rockets, and more than 2,100 kilograms of propellant for launching rockets.
On Dec.
1, US naval forces in the Middle East intercepted a fishing trawler smuggling more than 50 tons of ammunition rounds, fuses and propellants for rockets in the Gulf of Oman along a maritime route from Iran to Yemen.
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— US Naval Forces Central Command/US 5th Fleet (@US5thFleet) December 3, 2022
For his part, the commander of the US Naval Forces Central Command, Brad Cooper, said that it appears clearly that Iran's illegal transfer of lethal aid continues, as well as destabilizing behavior, as he put it.
He added that the US Navy focused on deterring and disrupting dangerous and irresponsible maritime activity in the region, as he described it.