The Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday that the United Nations found out thousands of weapons recently seized in the Arabian Sea likely came from a port in Iran, adding to the evidence that Tehran is exporting arms to Yemen and elsewhere in the region.
Citing a confidential report by a UN Security Council panel of experts on Yemen, the Journal wrote that boats and land transport were used to smuggle weapons made in Russia, China, and Iran into Yemen.
“The arms included rocket launchers, machine guns and sniper rifles, which had been seized by the US Navy in recent months,” the report said.
Yemen has been struggling with civil war since 2014, with Iran-backed Houthi rebels fighting against the internationally recognized government especially backed by Saudi Arabia.
The UN imposed an arms embargo on the Houthis in 2015. The United States and Saudi Arabia have long accused Iran of supplying the Houthis with weapons, a charge Tehran denies.
