2 U.S. Navy SEALs Lost at Sea During Search for Iran-Made Houthi Weapons

A pair of U.S. Navy SEALs lost at sea off the coast of Somalia last week were taking part in an operation that found Iranian missile parts on a small vessel heading to Houthi militants in Yemen, the U.S. military said Tuesday. A search and rescue mission is now underway in the Gulf of Aden between Somalia and Yemen after the U.S. personnel went into the waves during the boarding operation on Thursday. U.S. Central Command confirmed that the missing SEALs’ teammates went on to find Iranian missile components on the boat, known as a dhow, adding that initial analysis showed the same type of weapons have been used by the Houthis “to threaten and attack innocent mariners on international merchant ships transiting in the Red Sea.” “This is the first seizure of lethal, Iranian-supplied advanced conventional weapons (ACW) to the Houthis since the beginning of Houthi attacks against merchant ships in November 2023,” CENTCOM said.