Concerned that direct aid from Washington to Kyiv will soon be gone, the US military has declared that it has transported many captured Iranian munitions to Ukraine.
On Monday, the United States sent the Ukrainian military approximately 1.1 million rounds of 7.62mm rifle ammunition.
US Central Command has stated that the United States will work with its friends and partners to enforce all legal measures, such as US and UN sanctions and interdictions, and to halt Iran’s lethal aid to the region.
According to the announcement, the material was discovered in December 2022 on its way to Houthi militants in Yemen in contravention of UN sanctions.
On July 20, the Justice Department filed civil forfeiture proceedings against Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to seize control of the weapons.
During the same month, the DOJ announced it had filed a claim to ownership of over 9,000 rifles, 284 machine guns, over 194 rocket launchers, over 70 anti-tank guided missiles, and over 700,000 rounds of ammunition from Iran’s armament tranche.
War supplies financing in Ukraine is at an all-time low, officials warn.
In a statement released this week, the Pentagon said that of the $5.4 billion that can be removed from existing supplies, only $1.6 billion is needed to replace inventory.
About $113 billion in military and humanitarian aid has been approved by Congress since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
The most recent government budget law was passed on Saturday; however, a $6 billion tranche of aid has been eliminated.
Weeks after Washington unfroze around $6 billion in oil revenue in exchange for releasing five American hostages, Iran shipped weaponry to the Russians.
The United States claims that Tehran has aided Russia’s military efforts by providing the country with attack drones.
And despite Western sanctions, Russia has openly fostered a connection with Iran’s neighbor, North Korea, to secure more weaponry for its invasion.
