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A Pakistani national has been sentenced to 40 years in federal prison for his role in running a smuggling ring that funneled advanced Iranian-made weapons to the Houthis — a deadly mission that resulted in the deaths of two U.S. Navy SEALs in the Arabian Sea.
A federal jury convicted Muhammad Pahlawan on June 5, 2025, of conspiring to provide material support and resources to terrorists and Iran’s weapons of mass destruction program, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). He was also found guilty of plotting to transport explosive devices to the Houthis, knowing they would be used to cause damage, and of threatening his crew.
According to court records, U.S. Central Command naval forces operating from the USS Lewis B. Puller — including Navy SEALs and members of the U.S. Coast Guard Maritime Security Response Team (East) — boarded a small vessel on Jan. 11.
The boarding team encountered 14 people on board the ship, including Pahlawan. During the search, they seized advanced Iranian-made conventional weapons, including ballistic missile components, anti-ship cruise missile components and a warhead.
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Some of the weapons and components found in the smugglers’ ship. The Justice Department said the documents were consistent with what Iran-backed Houthi rebels use in their U.S. trade and military attacks. (Ministry of Justice)
The DOJ said the type of weaponry found on the ship is consistent with weapons used by Houthi rebel forces targeting U.S. merchant and military vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden following Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
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. (US 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 on the boat when he slipped and fell into a gap created by waves between the ship and the SEAL watercraft.
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As Ingram fell, Chambers jumped into the breach to try to save him.
Four foreign nationals were indicted Thursday for transporting suspected Iranian-made weapons onto a ship intercepted by U.S. naval forces in the Arabian Sea last month. (Ministry of Justice)
The DOJ said the Navy conducted an extensive search to find and rescue the SEALs, but they were ultimately pronounced dead on Jan. 22.
Pahlawan’s trip that day was part of a larger operation, the Justice Department added, explaining that from August 2023 to 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.
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A warhead found on board the ship is believed to have smuggled Iranian-made weapons. (Ministry of Justice)
He completed several smuggling missions, transporting goods from Iran to the coast of Somalia, where he transferred them to another vessel in overnight ship-to-ship operations, the Justice Department said.
Pahlawan also worked with Shahab and Yunus to prepare the ship for several smuggling missions, obtained coordinates from them for ship-to-ship transfers, and was paid for his role in the operation.
On February 11, 2024, the United States obtained arrest warrants for four of the foreign nationals, identified as Pahlawan, Mohammad Mazhar, Ghufran Ullah, and Izhar Muhammad.
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The four men, found with Pakistani ID cards, were transferred from the A.S.S. Lewis B. Fuller in the Eastern District of Virginia.
Mazhar, Ullah and Muhammad were also accused of providing false information to U.S. Coast Guard officers during the boarding of the vessel regarding the vessel’s crew and/or cargo.
