US Jury Convicts Pak Man Of Smuggling Iranian Arms To Yemen's Houthis

A Pakistani man seized last year in a raid by US Navy SEALS was convicted Thursday of smuggling Iranian weapons to Yemen's Huthi rebels.

Muhammad Pahlawan, 49, was one of four men taken into US custody during the navy's January 2024 vessel seizure off the coast of Somalia, an operation which left two SEALs dead.

A federal jury in Virginia convicted Pahlawan of conspiring to provide material support to terrorists, aiding Iran's weapons of mass destruction program, conspiring to transport explosives and other charges.

He is to be sentenced on September 22 and faces a maximum of 20 years in prison for each of the most serious charges.

According to court documents, Pahlawan worked with two Iranian brothers affiliated with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to smuggle weapons from Iran to the Huthis.

He was the captain of the vessel, a dhow, boarded by members of the US special forces, according to court documents.

Iranian-made ballistic missile and anti-ship cruise missile parts were discovered on board that were consistent with weaponry used by Huthi rebels to attack merchant ships and US military vessels.

The Huthis, who have controlled large swaths of Yemen for more than a decade, began attacks on shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden in November 2023, weeks after the start of the Israel-Hamas war.

The Huthis began targeting ships they claimed were linked to Israel in attacks they said were in support of Palestinians in Gaza, where Israeli forces are battling Hamas.

Two Navy SEALs went missing during the January 11, 2024 operation and were declared dead after a 10-day search failed to locate them.

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