US Jury Convicts Pakistani Captain of Smuggling Iranian Arms to Yemen Houthis

Muhammad Pahlawan, a Pakistani national, was convicted by a U.S. federal jury for smuggling Iranian-made advanced weaponry to Yemen's Houthi rebels and threatening witnesses. Pahlawan captained an unflagged dhow intercepted by U.S. Navy SEALs and Coast Guard forces in the Arabian Sea in January 2024, which led to the deaths of two SEALs during the operation. The seized weapons included ballistic missile parts, cruise missile components, and warheads consistent with those used by the Houthis in attacks on commercial and military vessels. Prosecutors revealed Pahlawan worked with two Iranian brothers affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to smuggle weapons from Iran to Yemen via ship-to-ship transfers near Somalia. The Houthis have targeted ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since November 2023, following the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas conflict. Pahlawan faces up to 20 years in prison and is scheduled for sentencing on September 22.