Iran and Hezbollah exposed in Yemen chemical weapons smuggling

A crew aboard the “Al-Sharwa” ship has confirmed that Iran has been smuggling weapons of mass destruction to Houthi militias in Yemen. The operation was facilitated using Iran’s Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) and Hezbollah, Yemeni Resistance and Sky News Arabia reported on August 11^th.

The shipment came through complex routes via Somalia and Djibouti. By capturing the vessel, the operation has revealed explosive new information that undermine Houthi manufacturing claims.

The Yemeni National Resistance Forces (NRF), a paramilitary group loyal to the Yemeni government, seized the disguised shipment carrying a reported 750 tons of strategic weapons. According to the NRF, the crew confirmed that the shipment was the 12^th of its kind – made to look like workshop equipment.

In a statement published on X, the NRF said: “The cell members noted that international naval patrols showed no interest in intercepting them at sea, and when crossing the Bab el Mandeb Strait at night, they took the western side of the international shipping lane near Eritrea to evade coastguard patrols and the National Resistance navy.”

The crew “mocked” claims of domestic weapons manufacturing made by the Houthis, the NRF added. It later became evident to them that the weapons were being smuggled directly from Iran, Lloyds List reported.

“It became clear to us that all the shipments we smuggled… were weapons, and it also became clear to us that we are the Houthi’s military manufacturing,” the NRF statement said.

According to audio and video-recorded confessions, the smuggling network includes seven operatives, four of whom were captured, and direct training and supervision in Iran. The four men were identified as Amer Ahmed Yahya Masawi, Ali Ahmed Abdo Qusayr, Issa Ahmed Abdo Qusayr and Abdullah Mohammed Maqbool Afifi, according to Khabar Agency.

Confirming that they had been recruited by the Houthi militia, the accused said that Houthi rebels exploited their financial hardships to enlist them in the operation. The four men disclosed that they were transported via flights from Sana’a Airport to Jordan, later arriving in Lebanon. In Lebanon, the crew members were transferred through routes allegedly facilitated by Hezbollah and Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, being moved to Syria and then to Tehran, Iran.

The accused allegedly gave details about the weapons that were transported, including what were described as sensitive chemical substances. The crew gave details about shipments in refrigerated containers moving from Bandar Abbas at temperatures set by Iranian specialists.

The NRF statement linked the refrigerated substances to the smuggling of materials like hydrazine and liquid nitrogen, commonly used to manufacture missiles and explosives.

The confessions have exposed a sophisticated supply line stretching across Arab, Asian and African countries, the NRF statement said. There was also an alternative route passing through Oman.

The NRF statement outlined three primary routes, a direct corridor from Iran to Yemen; a second path in which Iran’s Revolutionary Guard moves weapons by boat to Somalia’s coast; and a third route through Djibouti, where arms are shipped under the guise of commercial cargo.

The captured men also exposed the existence of Houthi militia camps in Tehran. The recruits are ultimately taken to camps in Bandar Abbas, which is near Iran’s premier maritime gateway.

Yemeni National Resistance Forces, Sky News Arabia, Lloyds List, Khabar Agency, Maghrebi.org