(Al Jazeera Media Network) The United States has sent Ukraine more than one million rounds of seized Iranian ammunition, according to the U.S. military.
The U.S. Central Command on Wednesday said the ammunition was confiscated last year from a vessel it accused of shipping weapons from Iran to the Houthi rebel group in Yemen.
“The U.S. government transferred approximately 1.1 million 7.62mm rounds to the Ukrainian armed forces” on Monday, the military’s Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement, adding that it had “obtained ownership of these munitions on July 20, 2023, through the Department of Justice’s civil forfeiture claims.”
The decision came amid high tensions between Tehran and Washington, with Iran’s support for Russia’s war effort in Ukraine and the Houthi rebel group in Yemen being the points of contention.
The shipment is unlikely to make a large difference in Ukraine’s efforts on the battlefield, with long-range weapons and air defence systems larger priorities for the Eastern European nation.
Military assistance from the US has played a vital role in that effort, but conservative members of the US Republican Party have pledged to clamp down on further funds.
