America sent weapons seized from Iran to Ukraine

Washington (Uttam Hindu News): US Central Command (CENTCOM) reported that approximately 1.1 million rounds of 7.62 mm ammunition seized from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has been transferred to the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Ammunition seized from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) was transferred to the Ukrainian Armed Forces on Monday, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement issued on Wednesday.

“The government acquired ownership of these weapons on July 20 through Justice Department civil forfeiture claims against the IRGC,” it reported. “These weapons were originally seized by CENTCOM naval forces from the transiting stateless dhow Marwan on December 9, 2022.” “War material was being transferred from the IRGC to the Houthis in Yemen in violation of UN Security Council Resolution 2216,” the statement said.

CENTCOM further said that Washington is committed to working with our allies and partners to counter the flow of Iranian lethal assistance to the region by all legitimate means, including through US and UN sanctions. It also said that “Iran’s support for armed groups threatens international and regional security, the security of our military, diplomatic personnel and civilians in the region, as well as our allies”.

In a separate statement released Wednesday by the Justice Department, Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said, “With this arms transfer, the Justice Department’s seizure actions against one authoritarian regime are now directly supporting the Ukrainian people’s fight against another authoritarian regime. “We will continue to use every legal authority at our disposal to support Ukraine in its fight for freedom, democracy and the rule of law.”

The development comes as Iran has been repeatedly accused of supplying weapons, particularly drones, to Russia for use in its ongoing invasion of Ukraine. Last year, the US Navy seized thousands of Iranian assault rifles and more than a million rounds of ammunition from ships used by Iran to ship weapons to Yemen, CNN reported.

The seizures, often carried out with regional partner forces, target small stateless vessels on routes historically used to smuggle weapons to the Houthis in Yemen. In mid-January, the US assisted French forces in seizing 3,000 assault rifles as well as 23 anti-tank guided missiles headed from Iran to Yemen. Following the seizure, the US took possession of the seized weapons.