USA, — Four foreign nationals were charged Thursday in connection with the transporting of suspected Iranian-made weapons on a vessel intercepted by U.S. naval forces last month, U.S. officials say.
Two Navy SEALS, including one from North Texas, were killed in the mission.
In a revised account of what happened, officials said Navy Special Warfare Operator 1st Class Christopher J. Chambers was boarding the boat on Jan. 11 and slipped into the gap the high waves had created between the vessel and the SEALs’ combatant craft. As Chambers fell, Navy Special Warfare Operator 2nd Class Nathan Gage Ingram, a Byron Nelson High School alumnus from Trophy Club, Texas, jumped in to try to save him. Efforts to find them were unsuccessful.
A criminal complaint unsealed Thursday in U.S. district court in Richmond alleges four defendants were transporting suspected Iranian-made missile components for the type of weapons used by Houthi rebel forces in recent attacks on merchant ships and U.S. military ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.
“The flow of missiles and other advanced weaponry from Iran to Houthi rebel forces in Yemen threatens the people and interests of America and our partners in the region,” Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said in a news release. “Two Navy SEALs tragically lost their lives in the operation that thwarted the defendants charged today from allegedly smuggling Iranian-made weapons that the Houthis could have used to target American forces and threaten freedom of navigation and a vital artery for commerce. Alongside our partners around the world, the Justice Department will continue to deploy every available tool to combat this grave threat.”
Muhammad Pahlawan is charged with attempting to smuggle missile components, including a warhead, and officials allege Pahlawan likely knew the weaponry would be used by Houthi rebel forces. Pahlawan is also charged with providing false information to federal officials, according to the complaint
Mohammad Mazhar, Ghufran Ullah and Izhar Muhammad -- Pahlawan’s co-defendants -- are also charged with providing false information to federal officials while boarding the vessel, the complaint shows.
Pahlawan faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison if convicted of unlawfully transporting a warhead, and all four defendants face a maximum penalty of five years in prison if convicted of the false statements offense, officials said in a news release.
