Fox News: Two U.S. Special Forces Members Disappear During Mission to Prevent 'Iranian Arms Smuggling'

An American official told Fox News that two members of the U.S. Navy SEALs who disappeared in waters near the coast of Somalia were on a mission to track Iranian-made weapons shipments destined for Yemen. On Monday, January 15, Fox News quoted this official stating that the two members of the 'United States Navy SEALs' had attempted to board a ship believed to be operating under a false flag and possibly involved in arms smuggling. It is still unclear whether any weapons were discovered on that ship. This new report comes after it was previously stated that the two special forces members went missing on Thursday after conducting a nighttime prevention mission. They were climbing a ladder to board a ship in the Gulf of Aden when high waves threw one of them into the sea. According to the Associated Press, the second special forces member jumped into the water based on the SEALs' protocol to assist a colleague, and both went missing. Both individuals are still unaccounted for, and the search and rescue mission in the Gulf of Aden continues. Officials who spoke to the Washington Post expressed that their concerns were more about the swelling and severe fatigue of these individuals rather than hypothermia from the cold waters. Officials expressed hope that they would be found alive. Iranian officials have claimed for several months that they do not have proxy groups and that the Houthi attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea are spontaneous actions by the Houthis in defense of the Palestinians in Gaza. However, reports indicate that they simultaneously provide weapons and training to the Houthis and assist them in targeting commercial ships in the Red Sea. Some experts say that the Houthi attacks on ships and other militants in the region are carried out under the orders of the Islamic Republic against U.S. forces in Syria and Iraq. Hamas militants killed at least 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in a terrorist attack on southern Israel on October 7, and took about 240 hostages, including children, women, and the elderly, to Gaza. The United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Japan, Israel, and several other countries have listed Hamas as a terrorist organization. Sources: Fox News, previous reports from Voice of America. CENTCOM: Iranian-backed Houthis launched a missile attack on a U.S. ship. Qatar halted shipments of liquefied gas from the Red Sea route. The Indian Foreign Minister is heading to Tehran following U.S. and U.K. attacks against the Houthis. The U.K. warns the Islamic Republic about the 'hooligans' of the Houthis: the world's patience is running thin.