The United Nations found thousands of weapons recently seized in the Arabian Sea likely came from a single port in Iran, evidence Tehran is exporting arms to Yemen and elsewhere, The Wall Street Journal newspaper has reported.

Yemen has been racked by war since 2014, pitting Iran-backed Houthi rebels against the internationally recognised government and a Saudi Arabian-led military force.

Citing a confidential report by a UN Security Council panel of experts on Yemen, the Journal on Saturday wrote that boats and land transport were used to smuggle weapons made in Russia, China and Iran into Yemen.

The arms included rocket launchers, machine guns and sniper rifles, which had been seized by the US Navy in recent months.

“The mix of the weapons indicates a common pattern of supply, likely from government stocks, involving dhows [boats] in the Arabian Sea, which transport weapons to Yemen and Somalia,” the report said.

The UN imposed an arms embargo on the Houthis in 2015.

The United States as well as ally Saudi Arabia – which leads the military coalition backing the Yemeni government – have long accused Iran of supplying the Houthis with weapons, a charge Tehran denies.

Source » aljazeera