Iran ‘likely’ smuggling weapons to Yemen

The United Nations found thousands of weapons recently seized in the Arabian Sea likely came from a single port in Iran, evidence Tehran is exporting arms to Yemen and elsewhere, The Wall Street Journal newspaper has reported.

Citing a confidential report by a UN Security Council panel of experts on Yemen, the Journal on Saturday wrote that boats and land transport were used to smuggle weapons made in Russia, China and Iran into Yemen.

The arms included rocket launchers, machine guns and sniper rifles, which had been seized by the US Navy in recent months.

A Houthi official in Yemen denied the report, calling allegations of Iranian weapon smuggling “an illusion”.