US to transfer seized Iranian weapons to Ukraine

Washington DC [US]: The US will transfer thousands of seized Iranian weapons and rounds of ammunition to Ukraine, CNN reported.

US officials said the move aims to help alleviate some of the critical shortages facing the Ukrainian military as it awaits more money and equipment from the US and its allies.

US Central Command has already transferred over one million rounds of seized Iranian ammunition to the Ukrainian armed forces, it announced on Wednesday. The transfer was conducted on Monday, CENTCOM said in a press release.

The statement said: “The government obtained ownership of these munitions on July 20, 2023, through the Department of Justice’s civil forfeiture claims against Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).”

The US Justice Department announced in March that it was seeking the forfeiture of one million rounds of Iranian ammunition, thousands of proximity fuses for rocket-propelled grenades, and thousands of pounds of propellant for rocket-propelled grenades that the Navy seized from Iran as it was in transit to Yemen.

The department said: “These munitions were originally seized by US Central Command naval forces from the transiting stateless dhow MARWAN 1, December 9, 2022. The munitions were being transferred from the IRGC to the Houthis in Yemen in violation of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2216.”

The Biden administration has for months been weighing how to legally send the seized weapons, which are stored in CENTCOM facilities across the Middle East, to the Ukrainians.

US President Joe Biden recently said that the US, with its allies and partners around the world, will continue to stand with the “brave people of Ukraine” in defending their sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Biden’s remarks came at the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly which took place in New York.

Biden said, “Russia believes that the world will grow weary and allow it to brutalize Ukraine without consequence. But I ask you this: If we abandon the core principles of the UN Charter to appease an aggressor, can any member state feel confident that they are protected?

In a stern message to Russia, Biden called upon the world leaders at the UN General Assembly, “If we allow Ukraine to be carved up, is the independence of any nation secure? The answer is no. We must stand up to this naked aggression today to deter other would-be aggressors tomorrow.”

“That is why the United States together with our Allies and partners around the world will continue to stand with the brave people of Ukraine as they defend their sovereignty and territorial integrity – and their freedom,” Biden added.