US Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed earlier this week that the crew of a US Coast Guard cutter have successfully intercepted a dhow found to be transporting Iranian weapons components and related materiel to Yemen for use by the latter country's Houthi terror group.
CENTCOM said the interception by the coast guard occurred in the Arabian Sea on January 28 when the crew of the Sentinel-class fast response cutter USCGC Clarence Sutphin Jr located and boarded the suspect vessel.
The vessel's illicit cargo included components for sea drones, medium-range ballistic missiles, and anti-tank missile launchers as well as military-grade communications equipment. All have been confirmed as originating from Iran.
UN officials believe that the dhow, prior to its seizure, had been operating as part of an extensive arms distribution network that also includes Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-controlled warehouses in Iran and Yemeni fishing vessels being used as transshipping platforms.
Sutphin is one of six FRCs forward-deployed to Manama, Bahrain, as part of the coast guard's Patrol Forces Southwest Asia (PATFORSWA).