On Tuesday, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced that it completed a transfer of numerous weapons and ammunition seized from Iran to Ukraine in the last week. Those munitions include machine guns, sniper rifles, rocket launchers, and hundreds of thousands of rounds, seized from vessels belonging to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and intended to reach the Houthis in Yemen.
The Houthis were designated as a terrorist organization by the U.S. Government in January, citing "unprecedented attacks against United States military forces and international maritime vessels operating in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden."
A statement from National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said,
Today, in response to these continuing threats and attacks, the United States announced the designation of Ansarallah, also known as the Houthis, as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist. This designation is an important tool to impede terrorist funding to the Houthis, further restrict their access to financial markets, and hold them accountable for their actions.
The transferred material, originally confiscated by the US military and its partners from stateless vessels between May 2021 and February 2023, was finalized for transfer via the Justice Department's civil forfeiture process in December.
CENTCOM said in a statement posted to social media,
U.S. Government Transfers Captured Weapons
On Apr. 4, 2024, the U.S. government transferred over 5,000 AK-47s, machine guns, sniper rifles, RPG-7s and over 500,000 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition to the Ukrainian armed forces. This constitutes enough materiel to equip one UKR BDE with small arms rifles. These weapons will help Ukraine defend against Russia’s invasion.
The government obtained ownership of these munitions on December 1, 2023, through the Department of Justice’s civil forfeiture claims against Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
These munitions were originally seized by U.S. Central Command and partner naval forces from four separate transiting stateless vessels between 22 May 2021 to 15 Feb 2023. The munitions were being transferred from the IRGC to the Houthis in Yemen in violation of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2216. U.S. CENTCOM is committed to working with our allies and partners to counter the flow of Iranian lethal aid in the region by all lawful means including U.S. and U.N. sanctions and through interdictions.
Iran’s support for armed groups threatens international and regional security, our forces, diplomatic personnel, and citizens in the region, as well as those of our partners. We will continue to do whatever we can to shed light on and stop Iran’s destabilizing activities.
U.S. Government Transfers Captured Weapons
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) April 9, 2024
On Apr. 4, 2024, the U.S. government transferred over 5,000 AK-47s, machine guns, sniper rifles, RPG-7s and over 500,000 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition to the Ukrainian armed forces. This constitutes enough materiel to equip one UKR BDE… pic.twitter.com/Ydecq6OFAo
This is not the first instance of the U.S. transferring seized Iranian military equipment to Ukraine, as over one million rounds of ammunition were previously sent to Ukrainian forces in October. Over the past year, the U.S. Navy has intercepted thousands of Iranian assault rifles and more than one million rounds of ammunition from vessels used by Iran to support the Houthis in Yemen.
The arms transfer comes Ukraine faces shortages in weaponry and ammunition in its conflict with Russia, pending further funding approval from Congress for additional equipment from U.S. stockpiles.
On Sunday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that Ukraine will lose the war against Russia unless the U.S. provides further military aid, saying,
It’s important to specifically address the Congress: if the Congress doesn’t help Ukraine, Ukraine will lose the war. If Ukraine loses this war, other countries will be attacked. This is a fact.
Zelensky's remarks followed Secretary of State Antony Blinken's shocking assertion in Brussels, saying that,
Ukraine will become a member of NATO. Our purpose at the summit is to help build a bridge to that membership.
Washington's backing of Ukraine's NATO membership will undoubtedly escalate tensions with Moscow. Meanwhile, support for continued funding of the war in Ukraine has waned amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza.
Read More:
Zelensky Issues Ultimatum, Warns Ukraine ‘Will Lose’ If U.S. Refuses Further Aid
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