The United States will supply Iranian small arms and ammunition as military aid to Ukraine, which were sent to Houthi militants in Yemen, but were confiscated. This was announced by the US Central Command (Centcom) on Tuesday, April 9, on the social network X.
As specified in the message, Ukraine will receive more than 5,000 AK-47 assault rifles, machine guns, sniper rifles, RPG-7 hand-held anti-tank grenade launchers and more than 500 thousand rounds of 7.62 mm caliber. This will be enough to equip one brigade of the Ukrainian army, Centcom clarifies.
Weapons for the Houthis
The weapons were confiscated by the US military and its partners between May 22, 2021 and February 15, 2023, from four different vessels sailing without flags in the Arabian Sea en route from Iran to Yemen. The cargo from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps was supposed to go to Yemen’s Houthi rebels in violation of a UN Security Council resolution, the report emphasizes. Last December, US authorities declared the confiscated weapons and ammunition their property.
As US Attorney General Merrick Garland said, quoted by the German news agency dpa, “by transferring these weapons, the United States administration is hindering Iran’s destabilizing efforts and supporting Ukraine’s fight once morest Russia’s brutal, unprovoked invasion.”
Republicans block US military aid package to Ukraine
A $60 billion package of US military aid to Ukraine, which has been blocked by the Republican majority in the House of Representatives since the end of 2023, cannot gain approval in the US Congress. Republicans may be influenced by former US President Donald Trump, who hopes to be re-elected in the November presidential election. Blocked military aid is critical to Ukraine’s defense.
In October 2023, the United States already transferred confiscated Iranian ammunition to Ukraine, also heading to Yemen – then Ukrainian defenders received 1.1 million rounds of 7.62 mm caliber.
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2024-04-10 22:47:35