US redirects growing stockpile of ammunition seized from Iran

WASHINGTON — U.S. and allied forces have intercepted more than 170 tons of explosive material, one million rounds of small arms ammunition and thousands of assault rifles from Iran in just the last 10 months, and now some of the confiscated munitions are being sent to Ukraine, according to Naval Forces Central Command.

The figures, provided to Defense News by NAVCENT, illustrate the results of the Navy’s increased focus on disrupting Iranian smuggling in the region.

In September 2021, the U.S. 5th Fleet launched Task Force 59, which allowed it to more easily identify potential illegal activities and further investigate with manned vessels. The following April, the Navy stood up a combined task force — CTF 153 — that integrates the work of multiple nations monitoring the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.

Together, these efforts have created a tighter web to catch smuggling, a priority for Vice Adm. Brad Cooper, the 5th Fleet commander. Much of Iran’s lethal aid has been in route to Houthi rebels fighting in Yemen.

Since last November, NAVCENT has seized the following weapons and munitions from Iran:

8 Nov 2022 - More than 70 tons of ammonium perchlorate and more than 100 tons of urea fertilizer, which can be used to make explosives.

1 Dec 2022 - 50 tons of ammunition rounds, along with fuses and rocket propellants; more than one million rounds of 7.62mm ammunition; 25,000 rounds of 12.7mm ammunition; just under 7,000 proximity fuses for rockets; and more than 2,100 kilograms of propellant used to launch rocket propelled grenades.

6 Jan 2023 - 2,116 AK-47 assault rifles

In addition, U.S. partners seized 3,000 assault rifles, 578,000 ammunition rounds, more than 23 anti-tank guided missiles and “medium-range ballistic missile components” from Iran in January and February, according to NAVCENT.

This week, U.S. Central Command announced it had transferred more than one million of the 7.62mm seized rounds to Ukraine. The administration obtained control of that ammunition after the Department of Justice filed a forfeiture motion this March. This July, the DoJ filed a similar motion to forfeit thousands of rifles, hundreds of machine guns and rocket launchers and around 700,000 rounds of ammunition also intercepted from Iran.

While Pentagon spokespeople stressed the timing of the transfer is coincidental to the political environment, further aid to Ukraine faces uncertain prospects. The House of Representatives voted heavily for an additional $300 million in assistance last month, but for the first time, a majority of Republicans in the chamber opposed it. A vacant speakership in the House will make additional funding even tougher.

“I wouldn’t be surprised that additional aid packages get passed, but it is becoming more difficult,” said Seth Jones, who leads the international security program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank.

Such difficulty, said Jones, means the Pentagon may have to think creatively about how to continue supplying Ukraine, perhaps relying more on allies and partners replacing old stocks.

Meanwhile, the Defense Department says it still has $5.4 billion left to draw down its own stocks for Ukraine, but only $1.6 billion is left to replenish them.

“We need Congress to act to ensure there is no disruption in our support, especially as the department seeks to replenish our stocks,” Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh said at a briefing.

Noah Robertson is the Pentagon reporter at Defense News. He previously covered national security for the Christian Science Monitor. He holds a bachelor’s degree in English and government from the College of William & Mary in his hometown of Williamsburg, Virginia.

华盛顿——据美国海军中央司令部称，在过去的10个月里，美国及其盟军从伊朗截获了超过170吨爆炸物、100万发小型武器弹药和数千支突击步枪，现在其中一些缴获的弹药正被运往乌克兰。

这些数据由美国海军中央司令部提供给《防务新闻》，表明海军加大力度打击该地区的伊朗走私活动取得了成效。

2021年9月，美国第五舰队成立了第59特遣部队，使其能够更便捷地识别潜在的非法活动，并利用有人驾驶舰艇进行深入调查。次年4月，海军组建了联合特遣部队——第153特遣部队（CTF 153），整合了多个国家在红海和亚丁湾的监测工作。

这些努力共同构建了一张更加严密的走私网，这也是第五舰队司令布拉德·库珀中将的首要任务。伊朗的大部分致命援助物资都运往了也门胡塞武装。

自去年11月以来，美国海军中央司令部已从伊朗缴获以下武器弹药：

2022年11月8日 - 超过70吨高氯酸铵和超过100吨尿素肥料，这些都可以用来制造炸药。

2022 年 12 月 1 日 - 50 吨弹药，以及引信和火箭推进剂；超过 100 万发 7.62 毫米弹药；25,000 发 12.7 毫米弹药；近 7,000 个火箭近炸引信；以及超过 2,100 公斤用于发射火箭推进榴弹的推进剂。

2023 年 1 月 6 日 - 2,116 支 AK-47 突击步枪

此外，据美国海军中央司令部称，美国合作伙伴在1月和2月从伊朗缴获了3000支突击步枪、578000发子弹、23枚以上的反坦克导弹和“中程弹道导弹部件”。

本周，美国中央司令部宣布已将缴获的超过一百万发7.62毫米子弹移交给乌克兰。今年三月，司法部提交没收动议后，美国政府获得了这批弹药的控制权。今年七月，司法部提交了类似的动议，要求没收从伊朗截获的数千支步枪、数百挺机枪和火箭筒以及约70万发子弹。

尽管五角大楼发言人强调此次资金转移的时机与当前的政治环境纯属巧合，但对乌克兰的进一步援助前景仍不明朗。上个月，众议院以压倒性多数投票通过了追加3亿美元援助的提案，但共和党议员首次出现多数反对的情况。众议院议长职位空缺将使追加援助更加困难。

“我不会对通过额外的援助方案感到惊讶，但这变得越来越困难，”战略与国际研究中心智库国际安全项目负责人塞思·琼斯说。

琼斯表示，这种困难意味着五角大楼可能不得不创造性地思考如何继续向乌克兰提供物资，或许需要更多地依靠盟友和伙伴来替换旧库存。

与此同时，美国国防部表示，它仍有 54 亿美元可用于动用其在乌克兰的储备，但只剩下 16 亿美元用于补充这些储备。

五角大楼发言人萨布丽娜·辛格在一次简报会上说：“我们需要国会采取行动，确保我们的支持不会中断，尤其是在国防部寻求补充库存之际。”

诺亚·罗伯逊是《防务新闻》的五角大楼记者。他此前曾为《基督教科学箴言报》报道国家安全新闻。他拥有弗吉尼亚州威廉斯堡威廉与玛丽学院的英语和政治学学士学位。