US officials say Iranian-made weapons intended for Houthis were seized in raid

The US Navy seized Iranian-made ballistic missile and cruise missile components from a vessel off the coast of Somalia last week that was destined for Houthis in Yemen, US Central Command announced on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, search and rescue operations remain underway for two SEALs that went overboard and are missing. One fell into the water due to eight-foot swells, and the second jumped in after them, according to protocol, a US official told CNN Saturday. “We are conducting an exhaustive search for our missing teammates,” said Gen. Michael “Erik” Kurilla, the commander of CENTCOM.

The seizure comes amid increasingly high tensions between the US and Iranian proxies in the region. Last week, the US and UK militaries launched strikes against Houthi targets in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, marking a significant response after the Biden administration and its allies warned that the Iran-backed militant group would bear the consequences of its attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea.

The strikes were a sign of the growing international alarm over the threat to one of the world’s most critical waterways. For weeks, the US had sought to avoid direct strikes on Yemen because of the risk of escalation in a region already simmering with tension as the Israel-Hamas war continues, but the ongoing Houthi attacks on international shipping compelled the coalition to act.

The strikes destroyed less than a third of the Iranian proxy group’s overall offensive capabilities, a US official told CNN, with the group maintaining the majority of its ability to strike ships in the Red Sea.

CENTCOM’s release on Tuesday said US Navy SEALs from the USS Lewis B. Puller boarded the dhow in international waters off the coast of Somalia. The US seized “Iranian-made ballistic missile and cruise missiles components,” including “propulsion, guidance, and…