U.S. Indicts Three for Smuggling Weapons to Houthi Terrorists

The U.S. Justice Department has returned a superseding indictment charging two Iranian citizens, along with Pakistani citizen, for conspiring to provide and providing material support to Iran’s weapons of mass destruction program. The support allegedly includes weaponry linked to the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels, a designated foreign terrorist organization, resulting in deaths and violence against maritime navigation.

Court documents reveal that the Iranians, brothers Shahab Mir’kazei and Yunus Mir’kazei, are affiliated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Their alleged accomplice, Muhammad Pahlawan, worked for them as the captain of a smuggling vessel named “Yunus.”

Pahlawan reportedly collaborated with Shahab to prepare the vessel for multiple smuggling missions, receiving payments in Iranian Rials.

On January 11, U.S. Central Command Navy forces, including Navy SEALs and U.S. Coast Guard members, boarded the vessel off the coast of Somalia from the USS LEWIS B. PULLER. Tragically, two Navy SEALs lost their lives during the interdiction. The boarding team encountered 14 mariners, including Pahlawan, and discovered what is believed to be Iranian-made advanced conventional weaponry.

Preliminary analysis suggested that the seized weaponry included critical components for medium range ballistic missiles and anti-ship cruise missiles, similar to those used by Houthi rebel forces in recent attacks on merchant and U.S. military ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. This connection underscores the ongoing threat posed by the Houthis’ access to advanced weaponry.

The seizure marked the first confiscation of advanced conventional weapons (ACW) since the Houthis began attacking merchant ships in November 2023. The U.S. Justice Department previously charged four foreign nationals related to the seizure.

Pahlawan faces additional charges for providing false information to U.S. Coast Guard officers and witness intimidation. If convicted, Pahlawan, Shahab, and Yunus could face life imprisonment.

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