Washington: A Pakistani national has been convicted by a federal jury in the United States for orchestrating a complex weapons smuggling operation that supplied Iranian-made advanced conventional weapons to Yemen’s Houthi rebels, the US Department of Justice announced on Friday.
Convicted on Multiple Terrorism-Related Charges
Muhammad Pahlawan, 49, was found guilty on charges including:
- Conspiring to provide material support to terrorists
- Supporting Iran’s and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’s (IRGC) weapons of mass destruction (WMD) programme
- Transporting explosive devices with intent to cause harm
- Threatening his own crew
Pahlawan faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison under most of the statutes. He is scheduled to be sentenced in September.
US Navy Intercepts Weapons-Laden Dhow
On January 11, 2024, US Central Command forces, including Navy SEALs and US Coast Guard personnel, boarded an unflagged dhow in the Arabian Sea, off the coast of Somalia. The vessel carried 14 crew members, including Pahlawan.
A search uncovered Iranian-origin weaponry, including:
- Ballistic missile components
- Anti-ship cruise missile components
- A warhead
US officials said the cache matched the type of weaponry used by Houthi rebels in recent attacks on commercial and military ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden following the Hamas-Israel conflict that began on October 7, 2023.
Lies, Threats, and a Larger Operation
According to court evidence, Pahlawan lied to the US boarding party and instructed his crew to do the same. He later threatened the lives of crew members and their families.
Investigators also revealed that Pahlawan was part of a broader smuggling network operated between August 2023 and January 2024. He worked with two Iranian nationals, Shahab and Yunus Mir’kazei-both affiliated with the IRGC-transporting weaponry from Iran to the Houthi rebels.
The operation involved multiple voyages and nighttime ship-to-ship transfers near Somalia, using coordinates and payments provided by the Mir’kazei brothers.
Significant Blow to IRGC-Linked Smuggling Network
US authorities described the conviction as a significant step in dismantling a covert IRGC operation to arm the Houthis in violation of international laws. The smuggling effort was seen as a direct threat to regional maritime security and US military interests.
Further prosecutions or sanctions against other individuals involved in the network are expected in the coming months.