US Files Forfeiture of Weapons Parts, Ammo Seized From Iran
DOJ is seeking the forfeiture of over 1 million rounds of ammunition, thousands of proximity fuses for rocket-propelled grenades and thousands of pounds of propellant for rocket-propelled grenades that it said the U.S. Navy seized en route to militant groups in Yemen from Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Filing a complaint March 31 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, DOJ said the action is part of an effort "to enforce U.S. sanctions against the IRGC and the Iranian regime" and the claims are "merely allegations."
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U.S. Central Command forces seized the ammunition, proximity fuses and propellant from a flagless vessel in the Arabian Sea in December. DOJ said the forfeiture action "is part of a larger investigation of an Iranian weapons-smuggling network," which was involved in the illegal trafficking of weapons systems and parts by sanctioned Iranian entities that support militants in Yemen.
“The United States disrupted a major operation by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to smuggle weapons of war into the hands of a militant group in Yemen," Attorney General Merrick Garland said. "The Justice Department is now seeking the forfeiture of those weapons ... [and] will be relentless in holding accountable those who break our laws and threaten our national security.”