The Justice Department announced an indictment Thursday against 2 Iranian brothers and a Pakistani nationalist linked to a U.S. subject cognition disconnected the seashore of Somalia successful January that resulted successful the deaths of 2 Navy SEALs.
Shahab and Yunus Mir’kazei -- who national prosecutors accidental enactment for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps – and Muhammad Pahlawan are each charged with conspiring to supply and providing worldly enactment to Iran’s weapons of wide demolition programme resulting successful decease and conspiring to perpetrate unit against maritime navigation and maritime transport involving weapons of wide demolition resulting successful death.
Pahlawan is presently successful custody and awaiting proceedings portion the Iranians are astatine large. If convicted connected the national charges, each 3 men look a maximum punishment of beingness successful prison.
The Justice Department says Pahlawan "allegedly worked for the Mir’kazei brothers arsenic the skipper of a smuggling vas known arsenic a dhow, named the ‘Yunus,’ which is owned by Shahab."
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"On the nighttime of Jan. 11, U.S. Central Command Navy forces operating from the USS LEWIS B. PULLER, including Navy SEALs and members of the U.S. Coast Guard, boarded the dhow disconnected the seashore of Somalia," it continued. "Two Navy SEALs mislaid their lives during the interdiction."
"As alleged, the U.S. boarding squad encountered 14 idiosyncratic mariners connected the vessel, including Pahlawan. During a hunt of the dhow, the U.S. boarding squad allegedly located and seized what is believed to beryllium Iranian-made precocious accepted weaponry," the Justice Department added. "Preliminary investigation of the precocious accepted weaponry indicates that it includes captious components for mean scope ballistic missiles and anti-ship cruise missiles, including to see a warhead and propulsion and guidance components.
"The benignant of weaponry recovered aboard the dhow is allegedly accordant with the weaponry utilized by the Houthi rebel forces successful caller attacks connected merchant ships and U.S. subject ships successful the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden," the Justice Department besides said.
Federal prosecutors accidental Pahlawan is facing further charges of "providing materially mendacious accusation to U.S. Coast Guard officers during the boarding of the dhow regarding the vessel’s skipper and witnesser intimidation for threatening 1 of the crewmembers connected the dhow.
They added that Pahlawan "allegedly worked with Shahab to hole the dhow for aggregate smuggling voyages, and Shahab paid Pahlawan successful Iranian Rials from a slope relationship successful Shahab’s name.
"Pahlawan allegedly arranged to person payments from Shahab and Yunus successful Iran and administer the wealth to his household and others," according to the Justice Department.
The Navy successful January identified the 2 SEALs who were declared dormant arsenic Navy Special Warfare Operator 1st Class Christopher J. Chambers and Navy Special Warfare Operator 2nd Class Nathan Gage Ingram, days aft they went missing.
"We widen our condolences to Chris and Gage's families, friends, and teammates during this incredibly challenging time. They were exceptional warriors, cherished teammates, and beloved friends to galore wrong the Naval Special Warfare community," Capt. Blake L. Chaney, commandant of Naval Special Warfare Group 1 said astatine the time.
The announcement of the indictment comes arsenic U.S. Central Command released images Thursday of Air Force F-22 Raptors arriving successful the Middle East" arsenic portion of U.S. unit posture changes successful the portion and to code threats posed by Iran and Iranian-backed groups."
Fox News’ Louis Casiano contributed to this report.
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