A US federal court has sentenced a Pakistani national, Muhammad Pahlawan, to 40 years in prison for smuggling ballistic missile parts from Iran to Houthi rebels in Yemen. The 49-year-old was convicted on five counts, including terrorism offences and transporting weapons of mass destruction.
Pahlawan's crew testified that they were duped into taking part in the smuggling operation, believing they were working as fishermen. They claimed Pahlawan knew just how dangerous the cargo was and referred to himself as a "walking dead person" before his arrest.
The components found on Pahlawan's boat were described by US federal prosecutors as "some of the most sophisticated weapon systems that Iran proliferates to other terrorist groups." The 1,400 million rials (£25,200; $33,274) paid for the trip was considered "danger money" by prosecutors.
Pahlawan had made two successful smuggling voyages before he was caught. The crew members who gave evidence described a tense and fearful atmosphere on board the boat during their arrest, with Pahlawan threatening to harm them if they did not lie about his identity as captain.
The seizure of the weapons was significant because it provided the first Iranian-supplied arms to be seized by US forces since the Houthis began attacking vessels in the Red Sea several months ago. The components found on the boat were highly sophisticated and could pack a lot more punch than smaller weapons used by the Houthis, according to an expert.
The incident has highlighted the ongoing threat posed by Iran's smuggling of arms to Houthi rebels in Yemen, with shipping companies having largely avoided the Red Sea route since the start of the conflict. The detour adds significant time and fuel costs to each trip, making it a high-risk operation for commercial shipping vessels.
Pahlawan's crew testified that they were duped into taking part in the smuggling operation, believing they were working as fishermen. They claimed Pahlawan knew just how dangerous the cargo was and referred to himself as a "walking dead person" before his arrest.
The components found on Pahlawan's boat were described by US federal prosecutors as "some of the most sophisticated weapon systems that Iran proliferates to other terrorist groups." The 1,400 million rials (£25,200; $33,274) paid for the trip was considered "danger money" by prosecutors.
Pahlawan had made two successful smuggling voyages before he was caught. The crew members who gave evidence described a tense and fearful atmosphere on board the boat during their arrest, with Pahlawan threatening to harm them if they did not lie about his identity as captain.
The seizure of the weapons was significant because it provided the first Iranian-supplied arms to be seized by US forces since the Houthis began attacking vessels in the Red Sea several months ago. The components found on the boat were highly sophisticated and could pack a lot more punch than smaller weapons used by the Houthis, according to an expert.
The incident has highlighted the ongoing threat posed by Iran's smuggling of arms to Houthi rebels in Yemen, with shipping companies having largely avoided the Red Sea route since the start of the conflict. The detour adds significant time and fuel costs to each trip, making it a high-risk operation for commercial shipping vessels.
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yeah, that's a wild story.
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! 40 years in prison is like, super harsh man 
. I mean, I get that smuggling arms to terrorists is bad, but all those people were just duped into getting involved, right? It's crazy how complex and high-stakes this whole operation was - like, who knew it would go that deep? 
The fact that they had to pay "danger money" to even be part of the trip is wild 
. And now shipping companies are avoiding the Red Sea route altogether? That's just another layer of risk and uncertainty, which is totally not okay for them or their customers 
and now the crew members r all traumatized from the arrest 
gotta give it to them tho for testifying against him, justice served kinda 
but what's crazy is that this incident highlights how much of a threat iran's smuggling of arms poses to global shipping 
like who knew? 
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and I'm like WOW that's some serious business! Did you know the components found on his boat were SUPER sophisticated? Like, Iranian-supplied arms that can pack a lot more punch than what the Houthis have been using 
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. They're having to take the long way around which is adding a ton of time and fuel costs to each trip 
. I feel for them, but at the same time, 40 yrs in prison is SERIOUSLY harsh 
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It's like, a total of 4 major seizures by US forces so far 
. And the total value of those seizures is over $100M 
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. It's just mind-boggling how far we'll go for money when it comes to things like this.
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- like, "walking dead person" knows exactly what he's dealing with 
. And this whole "danger money" thing? 
Like, who comes up with that? It's all just so... complicated 
. This is like a ticking time bomb waiting to happen 
. We need to keep a close eye on this situation 
. These Iranian parts could've brought so much more harm than just some smaller arms 
. I mean, who takes part in smuggling weapons and then acts all innocent when caught? 
Pahlawan's whole thing about being a "walking dead person"... sounds like an excuse to me 
. Anyway, glad US forces were able to catch this operation in the act 
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Just a thought!
. I feel bad for the crew members who got caught up in it - they must be super traumatized now 
. Anyway, this incident just goes to show how unstable the region is right now...