Iran Intensifies Arming of Middle East Allies: Intercepted Weapons Reveal Buildup

Iran Ramps Up Arms Supply to Regional Allies: A Look at Increasing Smuggling Operations

In the wake of setbacks suffered by Iran, including the killing of senior military leaders and strikes on its nuclear facilities, Tehran appears determined to recoup its losses and bolster its regional influence. A series of interceptions involving sophisticated weaponry suggests that Iran is actively arming its militia allies across the Middle East.

This week, forces aligned with the internationally recognized Yemeni government intercepted a large shipment of missiles, drone components, and other military equipment bound for the Houthis on the Red Sea coast. Separately, the new Syrian government reported intercepting multiple weapons shipments on its borders with Iraq and Lebanon, including Grad rockets used in vehicle-mounted, multiple-launch rocket systems.

The Lebanese army has also managed to seize arms caches on its border with Syria, including Russian Kornet anti-tank missiles, a favored weapon of Hezbollah.

"Iran is re-establishing its presence in the Levant region by moving missiles to Hezbollah and weapons from Iraq into Syria," said Michael Knights, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and a specialist in Iranian-allied militia groups.

Record-Breaking Arms Shipment to Houthis

Yemeni forces announced Wednesday they had intercepted the largest shipment of Iranian weaponry ever seized, destined for the Houthis. The shipment was intercepted by the “National Resistance Force,” which is aligned with the Yemeni government.

According to U.S. Central Command, which is responsible for American military operations in the Middle East, the shipment was the largest interdiction of Iranian advanced conventional weaponry to date and included 750 tons of cruise missiles, anti-ship missiles, air defense missiles, warheads, guidance components, and drone engines.

The weapons were hidden aboard a cargo ship called the “Dhow,” concealed beneath a declared cargo of air conditioners. The shipment included Iranian-manufactured “Qader” anti-ship missiles, as well as components for the “Saker” air defense system – which the Houthis have used to shoot down a U.S. MQ-9 “Reaper” drone.

Previously, interceptions by the Yemeni and American governments have typically involved small arms or spare parts, rather than complete missiles.

Timing and Significance of the Supplies

The interception comes just weeks after a ceasefire agreement between Iran and Israel went into effect, ending 12 days of Israeli airstrikes that exposed Iranian vulnerabilities, despite its having built a missile arsenal and a network of allied militia groups to protect itself.

The U.S. also participated in the strikes against Iran, bombing key Iranian nuclear facilities. Earlier this spring, the U.S. also conducted nearly two months of strikes on Houthi positions, which ended in a ceasefire, leaving the Houthis in urgent need of more high-end equipment.

“The timing and scale of the weapons shipment strongly suggest that Iran is rapidly replenishing Houthi stockpiles depleted by U.S. airstrikes,” said Mohammed al-Basha, founder of the Middle East security consulting firm Basha Report. He added that this indicates Tehran hopes “to maintain its high-frequency operations against Israel and commercial shipping.”

On Thursday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baqaei described any claims about Iran smuggling weapons to Yemen as baseless.

Results of Re-Supply Efforts

These re-supply efforts may already be bearing fruit.

Last week, Houthi forces used rocket-propelled grenades, missiles, and drones to sink two commercial ships in the Red Sea, killing at least three crew members and kidnapping others. For weeks, the group has also fired ballistic missiles at Israel, though most have been intercepted.

Tracing the Origin of the Weapons

Although the intercepted weapons were being transshipped through Djibouti in East Africa (which is across the Red Sea entrance from Yemen), the “National Resistance Force” discovered multiple documents in Persian suggesting that their origin was Iran. These included a manual for a surface-to-air missile guidance camera, and a quality certificate attached to missile fins manufactured by an Iranian company.

Re-Arming Hezbollah

Iran's arms transfer operation to Hezbollah is also extensive. Last fall, Israel destroyed much of Hezbollah's arsenal and leadership through covert operations, airstrikes, and ground incursions, forcing the militant group to agree to a ceasefire.

“In recent months, there has been an increasing trend of attempts to smuggle weapons into Lebanon to Hezbollah, either via or from Syria,” said Michael Cardash, former deputy head of the Israel National Police bomb disposal unit.

Cardash, now head of explosives research at the Israeli security consultancy Terrogence, said that the channels for arms transfers have been disrupted by the fall of the Iranian-allied Bashar al-Assad regime and its replacement by a hostile government. Previously, weapons could be transported in entire truckloads, whereas now they can only be smuggled on a small scale.

For example, in June, the Interior Ministry of the new Syrian government announced the interception of Russian-made Kornet anti-tank missiles destined for Lebanon in a truck transporting cucumbers. In May, security forces intercepted Iranian-made air defense missiles near the Lebanese border, according to Syrian new government-affiliated media.

Despite multiple efforts to prevent Hezbollah from replenishing its damaged arsenal, people familiar with the matter said that, like the Houthis, Hezbollah has made some progress: it is able to manufacture drones and medium-range rockets independently, and has to some extent reorganized its smuggling network, successfully smuggling some Kornet missiles and other sophisticated weaponry.