General
Pakistani Man Convicted of Smuggling Iranian Missile Parts Headed to Houthi Rebels
Muhammad Pahlawan was captured by American forces off the coast of Somalia in a raid last year that led to the deaths of two Navy SEALs.
A Pakistani man was convicted on Thursday for his role in smuggling Iranian missile components bound for Houthi rebels, after being captured in a military operation last year that resulted in the deaths of two Navy SEALs, the Justice Department said.
The man, Muhammad Pahlawan, 49, was the captain of a small boat that was intercepted by the Navy ship Lewis B. Puller off Somalia in January 2024 and boarded by SEALs and U.S. Coast Guard members, prosecutors said. They found “ballistic missile components, anti-ship cruise missile components and a warhead,” consistent with weapons the Houthis have used against merchant ships and Navy vessels in the Red Sea.
Mr. Pahlawan was taken into custody with three other men.Prosecutors accused him of working with two Iranian brothers affiliated with Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps to smuggle the weapon components from Iran to the coast of Somalia. They said his vessel was about to transfer the missile parts to another ship for final delivery to Houthi commanders in Yemen when he was intercepted.