US delivers seized Iranian weapons to Ukraine to fend off Russian forces

World News

ukraine war

By Ronny Reyes

The US has given Ukraine thousands of weapons and ammunition to fend off the invading Russian forces — with the new supply seized from ships transporting weapons from Tehran to the Houthi rebels in Yemen, officials said.

“The US government transferred over 5,000 AK-47s, machine guns, sniper rifles, RPG-7s and over 500,000 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition to the Ukrainian armed forces,” US Central Command said in a statement on Tuesday.

“These weapons will help Ukraine defend against Russia’s invasion,” CENTCOM added.

The slew of weapons and ammo came from four separate missions between May 22, 2021, and Feb. 15, 2023, where ships in the Red Sea region were caught transporting weapons from Iran to Yemen at the command of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), US military officials said.

The attempted transfers of the weapons to the Iran-backed terror group violates the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2216, which places an arms embargo on dangerous groups, including the Houthis.

“CENTCOM is committed to working with our allies and partners to counter the flow of Iranian lethal aid in the region by all lawful means, including US and UN sanctions and through interdictions,” CENTCOM said.

“Iran’s support for armed groups threatens international and regional security, our forces, diplomatic personnel, and citizens in the region, as well as those of our partners,” the agency added.

“We will continue to do whatever we can to shed light on and stop Iran’s destabilizing activities.”

The seizures have continued in the area, with the latest mission seeing US naval forces capture more than 200 packages of medium-range ballistic missile components, as well as anti-tank guided missile launcher assemblies and a slew of explosives.

The latest delivery to Ukraine is not the first time the US has helped armed Ukraine with weapons seized from Tehran.

Last October, the US transferred more than one million rounds of ammo seized from Iranian shipments to Kyiv, CNN reported.

Soldiers on the frontlines in Ukraine have complained about ammunition falling short this year amid a lull in aid being held up in the US, which had served as the largest single supplier of ammo for Kyiv.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told US officials on Sunday that they needed to approve more aid to his nation soon or it would fall to Russia.

“It is necessary to specifically tell Congress that if Congress does not help Ukraine, Ukraine will lose the war,” Zelensky said in a video statement on Sunday.

“If Ukraine loses the war, other states will be attacked.”