Washington [US], April 11: Washington has sent thousands of weapons confiscated in the Arabian Sea to Ukraine, which is under attack from Russia, the US Department of Justice (DoJ) said on Tuesday.
"On April 4, the United States transferred over 5,000 AK-47s, machine guns, sniper rifles, and RPG-7s, and over 500,000 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition to the Ukrainian armed forces," the DoJ said in a statement.
The weapons were seized by the US military and the armed forces of allies on four flagless ships in the Arabian Sea travelling from Iran to Yemen between 2021 and 2023, the DoJ said.
According to Washington, Iran wanted to send the weapons to the Yemen-based Houthi militia - a violation of a UN Security Council resolution. The US therefore declared the weapons to be its property.
"With this weapons transfer, the United States government is both disrupting Iran's destabilizing efforts and supporting Ukraine's fight against Russia's brutal, unprovoked invasion," said US Attorney General Merrick Garland.
In 2023, the US government carried out a similar forfeiture action, transferring over 1 million rounds of ammunition en route from Iran to Yemen to Ukraine.
The US is considered Ukraine's most important ally in its defence against Russia.
Source: Qatar Tribune
