French forces seize shipment of weapons headed from Iran to Yemen

Assault rifles and missiles seized by the French navy lay on the deck of a ship at an undisclosed location [US military's Central Command via AP]

French naval forces in January seized thousands of assault rifles, machineguns and anti-tank missiles headed from Iran to Yemen, officials have told the Wall Street Journal and The Associated Press news agency, the latest such incident amid the country’s long-running war.

While Iran did not immediately acknowledge the seizure, images of the weapons allegedly meant for Houthi rebels released by the United States military’s Central Command showed them to be similar to others captured by American forces in other shipments tied back to Tehran.