Yemen: Seized Iranian ship carried "diverse, dangerous" weapons, explosives, rockets

SANAA, Yemen – Yemen's Defense Ministry says a ship seized by Yemeni authorities last month carried Iranian-made weapons, including material for bombs and suicide belts, explosives, Katyusha rockets, surface-to-air missiles, rocket-propelled grenades and large amounts of ammunition.

In a statement Wednesday, the ministry detailed contents of the Iranian ship seized in Yemen's territorial waters in mid-January. It described contents as "large, diverse and dangerous" weapons that also included night vision binoculars and goggles, remote devices, circuits, wires and rifle silencers.

Yemen state TV showed Interior Minister Abdel-Qader Kahtan and top military officials inspecting the ship, named Jihan 1, docked at Aden port in southern Yemen.

In Washington, U.S. State Department Spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said, "this is obviously extremely troubling." She added, "we commend the Yemenis on their interdiction's success."