A Pakistani national, Muhammad Pehlawan, along with two Iranian citizens, Younis Mir Kazai and Shahab Mir Kazai, have been indicted on charges of conspiring to assist Iran’s weapons of mass destruction program in the United States.
The U.S. Department of Justice made this announcement, Muhammad Pehlawan, who is presently in U.S. custody awaiting trial. Alongside him, four other individuals holding Pakistani identification documents have been charged for their alleged roles in transporting weapons from Iran to Yemen to support the Houthi rebels.
During a recent media briefing, Pakistan’s Foreign Office spokesperson, Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, confirmed that the Pakistani government had provided consular access to the accused Pakistanis.
This case ties into another serious indictment involving Pakistani citizen Asif Raza Merchant, who is accused of a plot to assassinate a U.S. politician and others. Court documents reveal that Younis Mir Kazai, associated with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, and Muhammad Pehlawan, who is said to be the captain of a smuggling vessel owned by Shahab Mir Kazai, are also implicated in these activities.
Further details from U.S. authorities indicate that Pehlawan allegedly transferred funds in Iranian currency to Shahab’s bank account. This case took a dramatic turn on January 11 when U.S. Central Command Navy forces and the U.S. Coast Guard intercepted a vessel off the coast of Somalia. The operation tragically resulted in the deaths of two Navy personnel. Authorities detained 14 mariners, including Pehlawan, aboard the vessel, where they reportedly discovered advanced conventional weapons of Iranian origin.
Pehlawan faces additional charges of providing false information regarding the vessel’s captaincy. The legal outcomes for Pehlawan, the Mir Kazai brothers, and their co-defendants could include life sentences if convicted of these serious allegations.
