Ukraine receives confiscated weapons from US that Iran planned to give to Houthis

Last week, the US government transferred over 5,000 AK-47 assault rifles, machine guns, sniper rifles, RPG-7s, and 500,000 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition to the Ukrainian military

This is stated in the message of the US Central Command.

These small arms and ammunition were seized by the US Central Command and allied naval forces from 4 stateless transit vessels between May 2021 and February 2023 - they were transferred by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to the Houthis in Yemen in violation of UN sanctions, according to the US Central Command.

"These weapons will help Ukraine defend against Russia’s invasion," the US military said.

According to CNN, over the past year, the US Navy has seized thousands of Iranian assault rifles and more than one million rounds of ammunition from vessels used by Iran to ship weapons to Yemen. The seizures target small stateless vessels on routes historically used to smuggle weapons to the Houthis in Yemen.

Justice Department and defense officials have been working together to find a legal pathway to send the weapons to Ukraine.

• On April 3, South Korea detained a flagless cargo ship suspected of violating UN sanctions against the DPRK. It was allegedly heading from North Korea to Russia.