The United States transferred military equipment seized from Iran to Ukraine earlier this month, according to U.S. Central Command.
On April 4, the U.S. provided Ukraine with over 5,000 AK-47s, machine guns, sniper rifles, RPG-7s, and over 500,000 rounds of 7.62 mm ammunition to the Ukrainian armed forces. These weapons were seized by U.S. and partner naval forces during four separate seizures from May 22, 2021, through Feb. 15, 2023.
“U.S. 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 U.S. and U.N. sanctions and through interdictions. 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,” CENTCOM said in a statement on Tuesday. “We will continue to do whatever we can to shed light on and stop Iran’s destabilizing activities.”
Tehran intended for the weapons shipment to get to the Houthis in Yemen, one of its proxy forces in the region. Iran arms and funds several proxy militia groups throughout the Middle East and has grown closer with Russia over the course of its war in Ukraine, further pitting itself against the West.
Two U.S. Navy SEALs were lost at sea in January when they boarded a dhow in the Arabian Sea that was transporting weapons from Iran to the Houthis. A similar interdiction was carried out in February as well.
The U.S. military has largely been unable to provide Ukraine with weapons since the start of 2024 once it ran out of approved congressional funding. The Biden administration has urged Congress to pass a supplemental funding bill that would include tens of billions of dollars for Ukrainian military aid, but House Republicans have refused to pass the legislation despite securing concessions from the administration.
Ukrainian forces have desperately tried to prevent Russian troops from capitalizing on their shortages, but they anticipate Russian forces will conduct a new offensive in the coming weeks and months.
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“Every day of delay in the decision in the United States on providing more support to Ukraine has consequences on the battlefield,” NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters last week.
In October, the U.S. transferred 1.1 million 7.62 mm rounds to Ukraine that Iran had intended for the Houthis.