US warship seizes suspected Iranian weapons in Arabian Sea
A US navy warship seized weapons it says are of Iranian "design and manufacture", including more than 150 anti-tank guided missiles and three surface-to-air missiles.
The US military said in a statement on Thursday that its guided-missile cruiser, the USS Normandy, boarded a dhow, a traditional sailing vessel, in the Arabian Sea on Sunday.
"The weapons seized include 150 'Dehlavieh' anti-tank guided missiles (ATGM), which are Iranian-manufactured copies of Russian Kornet ATGMs," the statement said.
"Other weapons components seized aboard the dhow were of Iranian design and manufacture and included three Iranian surface-to-air missiles, Iranian thermal imaging weapon scopes, and Iranian components for unmanned aerial and surface vessels" it added.
The military did not specify what type of surface-to-air missiles were seized.
In recent years, US warships have intercepted and seized several shipments of Iranian arms that Washington says were likely bound for Iran-backed Houthi fighters in Yemen.
In December, a US warship seized advanced missile parts believed to be linked to Iran from a boat it stopped in the northern Arabian Sea.
Under a United Nations resolution, Iran is prohibited from supplying, selling or transferring weapons outside the country unless approved by the Security Council.
A separate UN resolution on Yemen bans any country from supplying weapons to Houthi leaders.
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