This image posted on the official Twitter account of the Saudi Press agency, SPA, on Tuesday, September. 30, 2015, shows a confiscated Iranian fishing boat smuggling weapons bound for Yemen. (Saudi Press Agency via AP)
“The Command of the Coalition … foiled an attempt to smuggle weapons destined to the Houthi militias, on an Iranian fishing boat,” the statement said.
The Iranian boat was stopped by the anti-Houthi coalition 150 miles (241 kilometers) south east of the Omani city of Salalah in the Arabian Sea at 1.00 pm on Saturday, according to the statement.
Fourteen Iranian nationals were arrested on board the vessel which was carrying 18 anti-armored Concourse shells, 54 anti-tank shells, shell-battery kits, firing guidance systems, launchers and binoculars’ batteries.
Saudi Arabia has been fighting the Houthis in Yemen for six months in a bid to shore up internationally recognized President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi whom the rebels toppled from power in 2014.
Saudi Arabia and other coalition members have long accused Iran of militarily supporting the Shi’ite rebels who have seized large parts of Yemen, including the capital Sana’a, since September of last year. Tehran has denied the accusation.