Kalashnikovs and grenade launchers seized from Iranian dhow

The US Navy seized the weapons shipment in the Arabian Sea on a boat likely headed from Iran to Yemen.

A cache of weapons is displayed by the US Navy after it was seized from a dhow on March 28 in the Arabian Sea. The weapons came from Iran and were likely bound for Houthi insurgents in Yemen. AFP PHOTO / US NAVY
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The US Navy said on Monday it had seized a weapons shipment in the Arabian Sea from Iran likely heading to Yemen.

The Navy said the USS Sirocco intercepted and seized the shipment of weapons on Monday last week hidden aboard a small dhow.

The shipment included 1,500 Kalashnikov assault rifles, 200 rocket-propelled grenade launchers and 21 .50-calibre machine guns. Those aboard the dhow were released after sailors confiscated the arms.

Officials have linked similar weapons seizures to Iran and the Houthi rebel group which it backs in Yemen. A Saudi-led, US-backed coalition is fighting against the rebels and their allies after they drove the internationally-backed government from the capital Sanaa in September 2014.

A UN-brokered truce slated to begin on Sunday 10, followed by talks in Kuwait on April 18, hopes to bring an end to the fighting which has killed more than 6,000 people.

A delegation of Houthi rebels is holding talks in Riyadh, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al Jubeir said on Monday.

“The Houthi delegation is in Saudi Arabia and the discussions are continuing. I believe we have made good progress,” Mr Al Jubeir said.

The UAE has also been playing a key role in the Arab coalition that has been bombing the rebels for more than a year, in support of Yemen’s President Abdrabu Mansur Hadi.

“Talks with them are continuing with the aim of finding a political solution for the Yemen crisis,” Mr Al Jubeir said.

Previous negotiations have failed and earlier ceasefires were not respected, but the prospects of a deal have improved.

Saudi Arabia and the rebels have recently exchanged detainees and agreed through tribal mediation to ease tension along the two countries’ border.

*Associated Press and Agence France-Presse