WASHINGTON: The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has indicted two Iranians and a Pakistani national for allegedly providing material support to Tehran’s weapons programme.

A superseding indictment, filed on Thursday, charged two Iranian brothers — Shahab Mir’kazei and Yunus Mir’kazei — along with Pakistani Muhammad Pahlawan for “conspiring to provide and providing material support to Iran’s weapons of mass destruction programme”.

The development comes on the heels of the DOJ charging another Pakistani national, Asif Raza Merchant, who also allegedly had ties with Iran, in connection with a plot to assassinate a US politician and other officials on American soil.

The issue was raised at Friday’s Foreign Office press briefing in Islamabad, where Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch was asked about consular access to these individuals.

Muhammad Pahlawan was among several captured by US forces during action off Somali coast

“I had informed sometime back that we were given consular access to those Pakistanis,” she said in response to a question about the Pahlawan indictment.

Thursday’s indictment also accused the three men of “conspiring to commit violence against maritime navigation and maritime transport involving weapons of mass destruction resulting in death.”

Pahlawan is currently in US custody awaiting trial, while Shahab and Yunus remain at large.

The superseding indictment allows authorities to add or delete charges from an earlier indictment filed in February.

At the time, four men said to be carrying Pakistani identity papers came before a US federal court for allegedly transporting weapons from Iran to Yemen in support of Houthis.

According to fresh court documents, Shahab and Yunus work for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Pahlawan allegedly worked for the Mir’kazei brothers as the captain of a smuggling vessel named the ‘Yunus’, which is owned by Shahab.

Pahlawan allegedly collaborated with Shahab to prepare the dhow for multiple smuggling voyages, and Shahab paid Pahlawan in Iranian Rials from a bank account in Shahab’s name. Pahlawan allegedly arranged to receive payments from Shahab and Yunus in Iran and distributed the money to his family and others.

On the night of January 11, US Central Command Navy forces and the US Coast Guard boarded the dhow off the coast of Somalia. Two Navy SEALs lost their lives during the interdiction.

As alleged, the US boarding team encountered 14 mariners on the vessel, including Pahlawan. During a search of the boat, the US team allegedly located and seized Iranian-made advanced conventional weaponry. Preliminary analysis of the weaponry indicates that it includes critical components for medium-range ballistic missiles and anti-ship cruise missiles, including a warhead, propulsion, and guidance components.

The type of weaponry found aboard the dhow is allegedly consistent with the weaponry used by Houthi rebel forces in recent attacks on merchant ships and US military vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.

Pahlawan is also charged with providing materially false information to US Coast Guard officers during the boarding of the dhow regarding the vessel’s captain and with witness intimidation for threatening one of the crewmembers on the dhow.

If convicted, Pahlawan, Shahab, and Yunus all face maximum penalties of life in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the US Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Asif Merchant case

When asked about the Asif Merchant case, the FO spokesperson on Friday said that they were still waiting for US authorities to share details of this case. “We cannot legally determine any individual’s nationality unless we receive the relevant information,” she said, adding: “when we receive information from the US authorities, only then we would be able to determine our response”.

Earlier this week, during a news briefing in Washington, the US State Department had addressed the recent indictment of Merchant, reaffirming the United States’ commitment to safeguarding its citizens, including former officials, from threats posed by Iran.

State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller emphasised the government’s resolve to take all necessary measures to ensure their safety. However, he declined to provide details on any discussions with Pakistani officials regarding the issue.

Published in Dawn, August 10th, 2024