A Pakistani national was charged with smuggling missile parts to an Iranian-allied group targeting Red Sea shipping.
A Pakistani national accused by U.S. officials of transporting Iranian missile parts to Yemen's Houthi rebels has been detained awaiting trial.
At a detention hearing in federal court on Tuesday, federal prosecutors charged Muhammad Palawan with attempting to smuggle warheads and other weapons. The suspect was arrested in January amid US efforts to prevent targeting of Red Sea vessels by the Iranian-aligned Houthis.
Federal prosecutors said in court documents that Palawan refused to slow down the unflagged dhow as the U.S. Navy tried to board it and “shouted to the crew to burn the ship before the Navy could board it.” ” he said.
Two Navy SEALs were killed in an operation in the Arabian Sea on January 11.
Finally, another crew member approached the engine and stopped the boat, the document added.
Palawan is also charged with lying to U.S. Coast Guard officials when he claimed to be an engineer rather than a captain.
FBI Special Agent Lauren Lee testified that Palawan later contradicted himself by saying, “I'm in command of the ship.”
But Palawan's lawyers argued that the interpreter used by U.S. officials may not have spoken Punjabi, the Palawan language.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Troy Edwards Jr. said the most serious charge against the Pakistanis – knowingly transporting a warhead to be used by the Houthi rebels – constitutes a federal terrorism crime. He said the maximum penalty is 20 years in prison. Making a material false statement is punishable by up to five years in prison.
Three crew members of the Palawan were also ordered detained after a hearing on Tuesday and charged with lying about their identity as captain, weapons on board and their departure from Iran. Ten other crew members are being held under the federal Material Witness Act.
FBI agents wrote in an affidavit that the crew had multiple satellite phone calls with members of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). The US military has announced that it has seized advanced Iranian-made conventional weapons, including critical components, warheads, and propulsion and guidance components for intermediate-range ballistic missiles and anti-ship cruise missiles.
The Houthis, who control much of war-torn Yemen, have repeatedly targeted ships in the Red Sea and surrounding waters over Israel's war in Gaza.
It frequently targets ships with trade links to the US, UK and Israel in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, disrupting shipping lanes that account for about 15% of global shipping traffic.