A Pakistani man named Muhammad Pahlawan has been given a 40‑year federal prison sentence for running a smuggling operation that shipped Iranian‑made weapons to Yemen’s Houthi rebels. The shipments were so dangerous that two U.S. Navy SEALs were killed in the Arabian Sea during a boarding operation.
The case began on January 11, 2025, when U.S. Central Command naval forces from the USS Lewis B. Puller boarded a small vessel off Yemen’s coast. The boarding team discovered that the ship was carrying Iranian ballistic‑missile parts, cruise‑missile components, and a warhead—all known to be used by the Houthis against merchant and U.S. military vessels.
Pahlawan, who was on board with 13 other crew members, lied to the U.S. team and urged other crew members to do the same, threatening their lives and those of their families. When the Navy tried to make contact, the crew tried to hide the weapons and threatened the U.S. operators.
During the operation, two SEALs—Christopher J. Chambers and Nathan Gage Ingram—tore into the gaps of the waves to rescue a fellow SEAL who slipped into the water. Both men fell into a chasm between the boarding craft and the vessel’s hull and were never found alive. U.S. forces later confirmed the deaths on January 22.
Pahlawan’s arrest is part of a broader investigation that goes back to August 2023. Over this period, he worked with two Iranian brothers, Shahab and Yunus Mir’kazei, who belong to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Together, they moved weapons from Iran across the Arabian Sea, transferring them to Yemeni Houthi fighters in nighttime ship‑to‑ship swaps off Somalia’s coast.
In February 2024, U.S. authorities issued arrest warrants for Pahlawan and three other foreign nationals: Mohammad Mazhar, Ghufran Ullah, and Izhar Muhammad. The men were apprehended near the U.S. destroyer USS Lewis B. Fuller and transferred to federal court in the Eastern District of Virginia. They faced charges of conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists, supporting Iran’s weapons program, and tampering with U.S. naval operations.
The case underscores U.S. efforts to block the flow of advanced weaponry to hostile actors in the Middle East. By prosecuting those who facilitate such shipments, Washington aims to protect its naval forces and keep shipping lanes safe from future attacks. The 40‑year sentence serves as a warning to others who might think they can profit from arms smuggling at the expense of global security.
Source: Fox News
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