US Navy Intercepts 'Massive' Shipment of Explosive Material Bound for Houthis

A shipment of weapons seized by the US Fifth Fleet last year (archive)
A shipment of weapons seized by the US Fifth Fleet last year (archive)
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US Navy Intercepts 'Massive' Shipment of Explosive Material Bound for Houthis

A shipment of weapons seized by the US Fifth Fleet last year (archive)
A shipment of weapons seized by the US Fifth Fleet last year (archive)

The US Navy's Fifth Fleet said on Tuesday it had intercepted a fishing vessel smuggling "massive" amounts of explosive material while transiting from Iran along a route in the Gulf of Oman that has been used to traffic weapons to Yemen's Houthi militias.

US forces found over 70 ton of ammonium perchlorate which is commonly used to make rocket and missile fuel as well as explosives, the Fifth Fleet said in a statement.

"This was a massive amount of explosive material, enough to fuel more than a dozen medium-range ballistic missiles depending on the size," said Vice Admiral Brad Cooper, commander of US Naval Forces Central Command, US 5th Fleet and Combined Maritime Forces.

"The unlawful transfer of lethal aid from Iran does not go unnoticed. It is irresponsible, dangerous and leads to violence and instability across the Middle East," he added.

The intercepted vessel had four Yemeni crew members and also carried 100 tons of urea fertilizer, which is used in agriculture but also for making explosives, the Fifth Fleet said.

US forces sank the ship on Sunday in the Gulf of Oman as it was a "hazard to navigation for commercial shipping" and its crew were handed over to the Yemen coast guard, it added.

Last December, the Fifth Fleet seized a cargo of assault rifles and ammunition from a fishing vessel that it said were believed to have originated in Iran to supply the Houthis.



Students Occupy Defense Firm Leonardo’s Turin Headquarters to Protest over Gaza

Palestinians carry the body of a man killed in an Israeli strike in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza Strip, on November 13, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)
Palestinians carry the body of a man killed in an Israeli strike in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza Strip, on November 13, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)
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Students Occupy Defense Firm Leonardo’s Turin Headquarters to Protest over Gaza

Palestinians carry the body of a man killed in an Israeli strike in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza Strip, on November 13, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)
Palestinians carry the body of a man killed in an Israeli strike in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza Strip, on November 13, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)

Around a hundred students occupied Leonardo's Turin headquarters to denounce what they say is the Italian defense group's complicity in Israel's bombardment of the Gaza Strip.

The students, who unfurled a flag of the Palestinian territories from the roof of Leonardo's offices, said the company was supporting Israel by providing remote technical assistance and spare parts to Israel's air force.

Leonardo declined to comment.

Images released by the students show them in Leonardo's offices waving Palestinian flags and carrying spray cans. Outside they hung banners on the buildings saying "no arms to Israel" and accusing the group of complicity in genocide.

They also clambered on top of a plane in the grounds of the company's headquarters.

Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto condemned the protest, saying on X that the students were "destroying and defacing" the offices where an "important meeting with the staff of the defense ministry" was taking place.

"These people must be treated for what they are, dangerous subversives. Criminals have no political color, they are just criminals," he said.

Crosetto said in March that Italy had continued to export arms to Israel, despite government assurances last year that it was blocking such sales following the Israeli army's campaign in Gaza triggered by the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas-led attacks on Israel.

In March the minister said only previously signed orders were being honored after checks had been made to ensure the weaponry would not be used against Gazan civilians.

Through its US subsidiary, Leonardo provides Israel with aircraft and owns an Israeli radar company called RADA.

Under Italian law, arms exports are banned to countries that are waging war and those deemed to be violating international human rights.