The Media Line: Yemeni Forces Intercept Record Iranian Arms Shipment Bound for Houthis 

Audio By Carbonatix

Enlarge

Yemeni Forces Intercept Record Iranian Arms Shipment Bound for Houthis 

By The Media Line Staff  

The Yemeni National Resistance Forces (NRF), led by General Tareq Saleh, have seized the largest Iranian weapons shipment ever intercepted in the region, halting over 750 tons of munitions intended for the Houthis. The operation was announced July 16 by US Central Command (CENTCOM).  

The intercepted cache included hundreds of advanced cruise, anti-ship, and anti-aircraft missiles, drone engines, air defense systems, radar units, communications equipment, and other military hardware. Manuals in Farsi were also found among the cargo, and many of the weapons were reportedly manufactured by a company tied to Iran’s Ministry of Defense, which is under US sanctions.  

The NRF stated the shipment was en route to the Houthis, the Iranian-backed group that has continued to fuel instability in Yemen and the wider region. This operation, conducted in line with United Nations Security Council resolutions, demonstrates a growing capacity by Yemen’s legitimate forces to combat arms smuggling.  

General Michael Erik Kurilla, commander of CENTCOM, praised the seizure. “We commend the legitimate government forces of Yemen who continue to interdict the flow of Iranian munitions bound for the Houthis,” he said. “The interdiction of this massive Iranian shipment shows that Iran remains the most destabilizing actor in the region. Limiting the free flow of Iranian support to the Houthis is critical to regional security, stability, and freedom of navigation.”  

The NRF’s actions are seen as a significant win in the broader international effort to prevent Iranian weapons from reaching proxy groups across the Middle East.