A secret weapons mission. Two fallen Navy SEALs. And now, justice.
The Pakistani captain at the centre of a deadly high-seas smuggling operation has been convicted in a U.S. federal court, in a case that exposed Iranian missile shipments, threats against crew members, and a link to one of America’s most painful recent military losses.
Muhammad Pahlawan, 49, was found guilty on Thursday of arming Yemeni Houthis with Iranian weapons, aiding terrorists, and threatening his own crew into silence, all part of a clandestine network operating under the nose of international patrols in the Arabian Sea.
But the cost of exposing the operation was enormous.
During a boarding mission on 11 January 2024, U.S. forces intercepted Pahlawan’s unflagged dhow off the coast of Somalia. What began as a tactical operation quickly turned tragic when Navy SEAL Christopher Chambers fell into the sea. First Class Nathan Gage Ingram leapt in to save him. Neither man was ever seen again.
Their disappearance triggered a heartbreaking search, and a closer look at what the vessel was hiding.
Onboard, U.S. officials discovered Iranian-made missile warheads, anti-ship cruise components, and advanced targeting tech. Experts confirmed the weapons matched those used in recent Houthi attacks against U.S. and allied ships following the 7 October Hamas assault on Israel.
In court, prosecutors unveiled a web of covert smuggling routes, linking Pahlawan to two Iranian operatives, Shahab and Yunus Mir’kazei, alleged members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Pahlawan received direct payments from the brothers and orchestrated nighttime transfers of weaponry from Iranian ports to Yemen via Somali waters.
Pahlawan, prosecutors said, didn’t just lie to U.S. authorities, he instructed his crew to lie too, and threatened their families if they spoke out.
On top of the terror support charges, he was also convicted of aiding Iran’s weapons of mass destruction programme, transporting explosives, and witness intimidation. He’ll be sentenced on 22 September and faces up to 20 years behind bars.
Three other men were originally charged. By November 2024, two, Ghufran Ullah and Izhar Muhammad, had charges dropped and were reclassified as material witnesses. A third, Mohammad Mazhar, still faces trial for allegedly lying to investigators.
The trial, held in the Eastern District of Virginia, used extraterritorial U.S. law allowing for prosecution of crimes that threaten American lives or interests abroad.
But for many, it’s the loss of the two SEALs that casts the longest shadow.
Their sacrifice exposed a global smuggling ring, and brought a shadowy gunrunner to justice.
