Riyadh: The Saudi-led coalition said on Wednesday it had seized an Iranian fishing boat in the Arabian Sea loaded with weapons destined for the Al Houthi militia it is fighting in Yemen.
The announcement was made a day after tribal fighters backed by the coalition won control of a strategic dam in central Yemen from Al Houthi forces following weeks of fighting in the area east of the capital Sana’a.
A coalition statement said that the vessel was intercepted on Saturday and that 14 Iranians and weapons, including anti-tank shells were found on board.
“The Command of the Coalition ... foiled an attempt to smuggle weapons destined to Al Houthi militias, on an Iranian fishing boat,” the statement said. There was no immediate comment from Iran.
It said that papers found on board the boat showed that it was registered to an Iranian and was licensed for fishing by the Iranian authorities.
It listed the weapons seized as 18 anti-armoured Concourse shells, 54 anti-tank BGM17 shells, 15 shell battery kits, four firing guidance systems, five binocular batteries, three launchers, one launchers’ holder and three batteries.
The vessel was seized 150 nautical miles off the Omani port of Salalah, the coalition statement said.
Saudi Arabia and its coalition allies have repeatedly accused their rival Iran of arming the Al Houthi militia which controls parts of Yemen, including the capital.
But despite operating an air and sea blockade for the past six months, they have not previously come up with any evidence.
In May, an Iranian boat headed to the rebel-controlled Red Sea port of Hodeida with 2,500 tonnes of aid was diverted to Djibouti following warnings from the coalition and the United States.
The seizure of the Marib dam is the biggest success of Yemeni fighters alongside Gulf troops in several weeks. Together they have undertaken an armed push toward the Al Houthi-controlled capital Sana’a, 110km west of the dam, but progress has been slowed by landmines and stiff resistance from Al Houthi forces ensconced in rugged mountains.
Pictures printed on the front pages of Gulf dailies showed the foreign troops and local tribesmen planting the flags of the UAE, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia over the dam.
But in pro-Hadi fighters’ first significant loss in weeks, a district in the southwestern Taiz province fell to Al Houthis and their allies in Yemen’s army on Tuesday.
Wednesday’s announcement comes with relations between Riyadh and Tehran at a new low amid a war of words over a deadly stampede at this year’s Haj in which at least 239 Iranian pilgrims were killed.
Tehran accuses Riyadh of serious safety lapses and has questioned its fitness to continue organising the annual Muslim pilgrimage.
