A Pakistani man has been handed a 40-year federal prison sentence for orchestrating a smuggling operation that supplied advanced Iranian weaponry to the Houthis, a venture that tragically resulted in the deaths of two U.S. Navy SEALs in the Arabian Sea.
On June 5, 2025, Muhammad Pahlawan was found guilty by a federal jury of conspiring to aid terrorists and supporting Iran’s weapons of mass destruction initiatives, including connections with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Additionally, he was convicted of planning to transport explosives to the Houthis, fully aware they would be used for harm, and of intimidating his crew.
U.S. Central Command Navy forces, operating from the USS Lewis B. Puller, which included Navy SEALs and the U.S. Coast Guard Maritime Security Response Team East, boarded a small vessel on January 11.
Onboard, they found 14 individuals, including Pahlawan. A thorough search revealed Iranian-made advanced weaponry such as ballistic missile and anti-ship cruise missile components, along with a warhead.
The Department of Justice confirmed the confiscated weapons matched those commonly used by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in their attacks on commercial and U.S. military vessels. These armaments are similar to those employed in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden following the October 7, 2023, Hamas assault on Israel.
The DOJ said the type of weaponry found on the vessel is consistent with arms used by Houthi rebel forces targeting merchant and U.S. military ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden after the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel.
Pahlawan lied to the boarding team and told other crew members to lie, threatening their lives and the lives of their families.
Navy Special Warfare Operator 1st Class Christopher J. Chambers, left, and Navy Special Warfare Operator 2nd Class Nathan Gage Ingram went missing this month during a nighttime boarding mission off the coast of Somalia. (U.S. Navy)
Two Navy SEALs — Navy Special Warfare Operator 1st Class Christopher J. Chambers and Navy Special Warfare Operator 2nd Class Nathan Gage Ingram — died during the encounter. The DOJ said Ingram began climbing a ladder onto the boat when he slipped and fell into a gap created by waves between the vessel and the SEAL watercraft.
As Ingram went under, Chambers jumped into the gap to try and save him.
Four foreign nationals were charged Thursday with transporting suspected Iranian-made weapons on a vessel intercepted by U.S. naval forces in the Arabian Sea last month. (Department of Justice)
The DOJ said the Navy conducted an extensive search to find and rescue the SEALs, but they were ultimately declared dead on Jan. 22.
Pahlawan’s trip that day was part of a larger operation, the DOJ added, explaining that from August 2023 through January 2024, he worked with two Iranian brothers — Shahab Mir’kazei and Yunus Mir’kazei — affiliated with the IRGC to smuggle materials from Iran to recipients including Houthi rebel forces in Yemen.
A warhead found on board the vessel allegedly smuggling Iranian-made weapons. (Department of Justice)
He completed multiple smuggling missions by carrying cargo from Iran to the coast of Somalia, where he transferred it to another vessel during nighttime ship-to-ship operations, the DOJ said.
Pahlawan also worked with Shahab and Yunus to prepare the vessel for multiple smuggling missions, obtained coordinates from them for ship-to-ship transfers, and was paid for his role in the operation.
On Feb. 11, 2024, the U.S. obtained arrest warrants for four of the foreign nationals, identified as Pahlawan, Mohammad Mazhar, Ghufran Ullah, and Izhar Muhammad.
The four men, who were found with Pakistani identification cards, were transferred from the USS Lewis B. Fuller to the Eastern District of Virginia.
Mazhar, Ullah, and Muhammad were also charged with providing materially false information to U.S. Coast Guard officers during the boarding of the vessel regarding the vessel’s crew and/or cargo.
