Yemen’s internationally recognised government based in the port city of Mocha has reported that it has carried out its largest-ever interception of Iranian weaponry bound for the Houthi militia based in Sanaa.
This has also been confirmed by US Central Command (Centcom).
More than 750 tonnes of munitions and military equipment were reportedly seized, including advanced cruise, anti-ship and anti-aircraft missiles, warheads, drone engines, air defence components, radar systems, and communications hardware.
The operation was conducted by the Yemeni National Resistance Forces (NRF), which are aligned with Yemen’s exiled government and led by General Tariq Saleh, nephew of the country’s late former president, Ali Abdullah Saleh.
The NRF stands in direct opposition to the Iran-backed Houthis, responsible for violently disrupting maritime trade in the Red Sea.
Centcom released visual evidence, including photographs and video footage, showing a dhow transporting the cache of weapons. Documentation discovered among the confiscated items was reportedly written in Farsi, and many of the systems had been manufactured by a firm associated with Iran’s Ministry of Defence – a body already subject to US sanctions.
Military analysts reviewing the footage identified Iranian-manufactured Type 358 surface-to-air missiles, which are believed to have been used by the Houthis to shoot down US MQ-9 reconnaissance drones.
Losses of such drones have previously been confirmed by the US military. The anti-ship missiles displayed also closely resemble those deployed by the Houthis in recent months to strike and sink two commercial vessels in the Red Sea.
Such attacks resulted in the deaths of at least four individuals on 7 July, resulting in the Eternity C multi-purpose vessel to sink a week later.
The interception marks a milestone for the NRF, representing their first major confiscation of Iranian weaponry amid a conflict that has persisted for over a decade and continues to be widely seen as a proxy war, with Tehran’s support for the Houthis at its core.
Despite earlier joint airstrikes by US and Israeli forces aimed at degrading Houthi capabilities, the group has continued to launch missile and drone assaults.
These have included recent operations targeting Israeli territory.
