A Pakistani national has been sentenced to a lengthy 40-year prison term in the United States for his involvement in a clandestine operation to ship ballistic missile components from Iran to Houthi rebels in Yemen. Muhammad Pahlawan, the convicted smuggler, was apprehended in January 2024 during a US Navy operation in the Arabian Sea, an interdiction that tragically resulted in the deaths of two US Navy SEALs.
Court testimonies from Pahlawan’s crew reveal they were deceived into participating, believing they were merely fishermen. Their accounts provide a rare glimpse into the intricate network supporting the Houthi attacks, which targeted Israel and international shipping routes in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, purportedly in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. Iran has consistently denied supplying weapons to the Houthis.
Prosecutors stated that the sophisticated weapons components discovered on Pahlawan’s vessel represented some of the most advanced systems Iran distributes to terrorist groups. The 49-year-old was convicted on multiple charges, including terrorism offenses and the transport of weapons of mass destruction, leading to his sentencing on Thursday. The combined sentences amount to 40 years.
Pahlawan, during his final days before arrest, described himself as a “walking dead person” in messages to his wife, expressing his anxieties about the dangerous nature of his work. His crew members testified that they were unaware of the cargo’s true nature, and Pahlawan’s attempts to mislead them and authorities underscored the high stakes and clandestine operations involved.
The interception marked a significant moment, as it was the first seizure of Iranian-supplied weaponry by US forces amid the Houthi attacks. Smuggling operations along this route are not uncommon, with UN reports indicating the seizure of millions of weapons and ammunition pieces from similar small boat operations in the Arabian Sea between 2015 and 2023. These illicit shipments typically follow a pattern of transfer to smaller vessels off the coast of Somalia before being smuggled into Yemen.
The disruption caused by these attacks has had a considerable impact on global shipping, with many companies rerouting vessels around Africa, incurring significant delays and costs. The ongoing insecurity in the Red Sea continues to deter shipping companies from using the vital trade route.
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