The U.S. navy said on Saturday that a boat carrying 40 tons of fertilizer had left Iran on a route used by Yemeni Houthi rebels to store ammunition and weapons.
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He said the “flagless” ship – which was found in international waters off the Gulf of Oman on Tuesday – had already been intercepted with thousands of weapons a year ago.
“U.S. forces have discovered 40 tons of urea fertilizer, a chemical that can be used for agricultural purposes but also used to make ammunition,” said the Bahraini-based US V Navy.
The capture comes at a time of great tension in the region: on January 17, the Houthis launched an unprecedented deadly offensive in the United Arab Emirates, destroying tanker trucks with drones and missiles, and responding with Saudi-led coalition airstrikes in Yemen. .
The coalition has acknowledged that attacks on Sanaa and Hodeidah killed at least 17 people and caused a nationwide cyclone in the country, but has denied that it carried out a bombing of a prison in the northern fort of Sada. 100 people were injured.
The United States has called for a “raise” while the UN has called for “effective investigations.”
The coalition and its allies, including the United States, continue to accuse Iran of backing the Houthis militarily, which Tehran denies.
