The Navy SEALs were reported missing after boarding an Iranian ship, the US Armed Forces Central Command (CENTCOM) said on X. The elite soldiers did this to intercept an Iranian arms shipment for the Houthi rebels in Yemen. The Americans sank the boat because the vessel was said to be “unsafe”, but the two soldiers then went missing at sea.
The Houthis have close ties to Iran and have been carrying out attacks on cargo ships for months. The rebels, who control large parts of Yemen, say they are supporting the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip besieged by Israel. In recent weeks, the Americans and British have regularly fired on targets in Yemen in response to Houthi attacks. The Netherlands supports these attacks and assisted in the first operation.