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Iranian manufactured weaponry was seized by U.S. Navy SEALs last week in a raid on a ship in the Red Sea, marking the latest seizure by the U.S. Navy and its allies targeting weapons shipments in transit to the Yemen-based Houthi terrorist group. The Houthis have turned to piracy in the last several months in emulation of their sponsors, the Islamic Republic of Iran whose IRGC speedboats have harassed ships in the Persian Gulf for far longer. 

Global trade has been threatened by the Houthis' attacks, presumably their stated response to the Israeli invasion of Gaza, purposing to destroy Hamas's terrorist network following the October 7 bloodbath perpetrated in southern Israel when Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad operatives stormed through breaches in the separation wall, to murder 1,400 Israelis, torture, mutilate and mass rape Israeli girls and women, and take 250 children, women, the elderly and foreign farm workers hostage in Gaza.

Among the seized missile parts there were weapons thought to have been used in the Hamas attack in Israel on October 7. Tensions have been raised to the critical point across the wider Middle East, where Iran conducted ballistic missile strikes in Iraq and Syria, prompting those two Iran allies to cry foul and recall their missions to Iran. 

The SEAL raid occurred a week ago, its commandos launched from the USS Lewis B. Puller, backed with drones and helicopters where the encounter took place in the Arabian Sea, according to the Central Command of the U.S. military. The SEALS had sped toward their target in small special operations combat craft driven by naval special warfare crew. 

 

As the SEALS were boarding the target ship in rough seas, one SEAL was knocked off the boat by high waves causing a teammate to go in after him. Both SEALS remain missing.

Cruise and ballistic missile components including propulsion and guidance devices along with warheads were found. As well, air defence parts were in the shipment. Components resembling rocket motors and others previously seized, were among the images released by the U.S. military. Included were what appeared to be an anti-ship cruise missile with a small turbojet engine, a type made use of by both the Houthis and Iran.

"Looking at the size and the robustness of the thing, it looks a lot like an anti-ship warhead", stated Fabian Hinz, missile expert, research fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies who identified the warhead as a knock-off of an earlier Chinese design. He noted as well that the warhead in the photo bore a sticker reading "GHAD", and that Iran has an anti-ship missile called the Ghadir.

Ultimately, the ship was deliberately sunk by the U.S. Navy, after it was deemed to be unsafe. The ship's 14 crew were detained.