By Faisal Abu Bakr | 2025-07-21

ADEN -- A 750-ton shipment of Iranian weapons intercepted near Red Sea shipping lanes included hundreds of advanced missile systems, warheads, drone engines, air defense and radar systems, and communications gear, military officials said.

The Yemeni National Resistance Forces (NRF), led by Brig. Gen. Tareq Saleh, carried out the operation after receiving intelligence about suspicious movements, US Central Command said in a July 16 statement.

According to the NRF, there were manuals in Farsi, and many of the systems were manufactured by a company affiliated with the Iranian Ministry of Defense that is under US sanctions, US Central Command said in a statement.

The interception reveals the Houthis' ongoing reliance on foreign military supplies, particularly from Tehran, to sustain operations that threaten regional security and international navigation, said political analyst Mahmoud al-Taher.

It also reveals the Iran-backed group is unable to produce such armaments domestically and is forced to smuggle them in, he told Al-Fassel.

These smuggling operations undermine trust-building efforts between the warring sides in Yemen and threaten political settlement prospects, he said.

The seizure demonstrates the Houthis' disregard for maritime security, he added, noting that the Red Sea has become a theater for the group's terrorist attacks against commercial vessels.

The cargo included anti-tank shells, rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) rounds, sniper rifles, and machine guns, according to Yemeni military media.

Iranian regime's regional agenda

The weapons smuggling cannot be separated from the Iranian regime's plan to extend its regional influence by supporting armed proxies in the region, including the Houthis, al-Taher said.

Continued instability in Yemen and the Red Sea serves this agenda, he said.

The Houthis' acquisition of Iranian weapons is no longer in question, with abundant evidence confirming they receive military and financial support via various means, Deputy Minister of Justice Faisal al-Majeedi told Al-Fassel.

Multiple United Nations reports have documented smuggling operations between the Iranian regime and the Houthis, and have identified various maritime and land routes, he noted.

Meanwhile, the Houthis' missiles and drones have been forensically linked to Iranian technology, he said, with Iranian experts assembling these weapons and also setting targets.

The Houthis have become an Iranian "weapons warehouse" as Tehran invests heavily in the group after the defeats and failures of its other regional proxies, he added.

"All these weapons were falsely claimed by the Houthis to be locally manufactured, and they asked the public to donate to support local production," said media activist and field photographer Rashid Maarouf.

"In the end, it was revealed that they are all Iranian," Maarouf said. "Their scandal was exposed loud and clear, not just a loss but also a scandal as big as the loss itself."