Iran uses ‘cancerous’ armed groups to destabilize region, US says

A US federal jury has convicted a Pakistani national of smuggling Iranian-made advanced weaponry to Yemen’s Houthis and threatening witnesses, the Justice Department announced Thursday.

Muhammad Pahlawan, 49, was arrested in January last year after US Navy forces boarded an unflagged dhow in the Arabian Sea and discovered ballistic missile parts, cruise missile components, and a warhead. The weapons were consistent with those used by the Houthis in attacks on commercial and military vessels.

Read more here.

Muhammad Pahlawan, 49, was arrested in January last year after US Navy forces boarded an unflagged dhow in the Arabian Sea and discovered ballistic missile parts, cruise missile components, and a warhead. The weapons were consistent with those used by the Houthis in attacks on commercial and military vessels.

Prosecutors said Pahlawan worked with two Iranian nationals linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to move arms from Iran to Yemen via ship-to-ship transfers off the Somali coast. He was convicted on multiple charges, including providing material support to terrorists and Iran’s weapons of mass destruction program.

Pahlawan is scheduled to be sentenced on September 22.

The shipments, expected to arrive in the coming months, could be used to produce hundreds of missiles, with some material likely to be transferred to Iranian-aligned groups such as the Houthis in Yemen, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter.

The order was placed by an Iranian company through a Hong Kong-based firm. US officials estimate the material could support the production of up to 800 missiles. Iran has one of the region’s largest ballistic missile programs and has rejected any limits on its missile capabilities as part of nuclear talks.

US sanctions and growing concerns

The US has recently sanctioned multiple individuals and entities in Iran and China linked to missile propellant procurement. A State Department official told the Journal that Chinese support for Iran’s missile program and its regional allies remains a concern.

The shipments, expected to arrive in the coming months, could be used to produce hundreds of missiles, with some material likely to be transferred to Iranian-aligned groups such as the Houthis in Yemen, the report said.

The order was placed by an Iranian company through a Hong Kong-based firm. US officials estimate the material could support the production of up to 800 missiles. Iran has one of the region’s largest ballistic missile programs and has rejected any limits on its missile capabilities as part of nuclear talks.

The US has recently sanctioned multiple individuals and entities in Iran and China linked to missile propellant procurement. A State Department official told the Journal that Chinese support for Iran’s missile program and its regional allies remains a concern.

Previous shipments linked to missile fuel

The move follows earlier shipments of sodium perchlorate—used to manufacture ammonium perchlorate—also sent from China to Iran earlier this year, aboard two Iranian cargo vessels. According to Western officials cited by CNN, Financial Times, and the Associated Press, these shipments were bound for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and could fuel hundreds of mid-range missiles.

Explosion at Shahid Rajaei port still unexplained

In April, a deadly explosion occurred at Iran’s Shahid Rajaei port, where some of the imported materials were reportedly delivered. Iranian authorities have not confirmed the cause of the blast.

However, according to the private security firm Ambrey, the explosion was “reportedly the result of improper handling of a shipment of solid fuel intended for use in Iranian ballistic missiles.” Months later, officials have not publicly provided a detailed explanation.

Iran has ordered thousands of tons of ammonium perchlorate, a key ingredient for ballistic missile fuel, from China in a move to expand its missile arsenal while nuclear negotiations with the United States continue, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.

The shipments, expected to arrive in the coming months, could be used to produce hundreds of missiles, with some material likely to be transferred to Iranian-aligned groups such as the Houthis in Yemen, the report said.

The order was placed by an Iranian company through a Hong Kong-based firm. US officials estimate the material could support the production of up to 800 missiles. Iran has one of the region’s largest ballistic missile programs and has rejected any limits on its missile capabilities as part of nuclear talks.

The US has recently sanctioned multiple individuals and entities in Iran and China linked to missile propellant procurement. A State Department official told the Journal that Chinese support for Iran’s missile program and its regional allies remains a concern.

Read more here.

Israel reassured the White House that it will not launch a military strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities unless President Donald Trump concludes that negotiations with Tehran have failed, Axios reported on Thursday, citing two Israeli officials with direct knowledge.

Israeli officials conveyed the message during a visit to Washington last week by Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, Mossad Director David Barnea and National Security Adviser Tzahi Hanegbi, according to the report.

“We calmed the Americans and told them there is no logic in launching an attack if a good diplomatic solution can be found,”Axios quoted one Israeli official as saying.

“This is why we are going to give it a chance and wait with any military action until it is clear that negotiations were exhausted and [White House envoy] Steve Witkoff has given up.”

The report cited a senior Israeli official as saying that while the Israel Defense Forces are constantly training for a possible strike against Iran, the US and other countries had misread recent IDF activity ahead of strikes on the Houthis in Yemen as preparations for imminent action against Iran.