UN report on Iranian missiles in Yemen used against Saudi: Key takeaways explained

A new UN report endorses long-standing claims that weapons “of Iranian origin” were used in several attacks against Saudi Arabia last year and have been exported to the Houthis in Yemen.

The report provides evidence for US officials in their case to extend the arms embargo on Iran and further calls into question Tehran’s public commitments to dialogue and the nuclear deal.

Authored by the UN’s chief, Secretary-General António Guterres, it examines the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 2231 – the resolution by which the UN endorsed the Iran nuclear deal, officially known as The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in 2015.

Limited information from the report was leaked on June 11, including the key finding that missiles launched against Saudi Arabia in recent attacks were “of Iranian origin.”

Now, Al Arabiya English has obtained the full report, along with a range of photographic and video evidence of Iranian missiles and arms shipments, including exclusive images of Iranian weapons found from a previously undisclosed raid on a dhow in April, 2020, and footage showing a new angle of the attack on Saudi Arabia’s Abha airport in 2019.

With the UN Security Council set to discuss extending the arms embargo on Iran past October, the report is “significant in its content and timing” and will strengthen the US case for extending the embargo, according to Jason Brodsky, the policy director at United Against a Nuclear Iran.

Saudi Arabia has also welcomed the report, saying that it confirmed Iran’s well-known destabilizing regional behavior.

“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has consistently warned of the security consequences of arms agreements that overlook Iran’s regional expansion and ignore the legitimate security concerns of regional states. Today, we are glad that international partners are acknowledging these issues. It might have taken some time, but better late than never,” Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the UN Ambassador Abdallah Y. al-Mouallimi told Al Arabiya English.

Here is all you need to know about the new report and its evidence.

Key takeaways
1) Missiles and drones used in attacks against Saudi Arabia were “of Iranian origin.”

Secretary-General Guterres said the UN examined debris of weapons used in attacks on a Saudi oil facility in Afif in May, on the Abha international airport in June and August and on the Saudi Aramco oil facilities in Khurais and Abqaiq in September.

“The Secretariat assesses that the cruise missiles and/or parts thereof used in the four attacks are of Iranian origin,” said Guterres. The drones used in the May and September attacks were also “of Iranian origin,” he said.

While Saudi Arabia, the US and other investigators had reached this conclusion previously, it is the first time the UN secretary-general has explicitly confirmed their findings.

“There was always a very strong suspicion that the cruise missiles used were Iranian. Initially the UN said that it acknowledged the US and the Saudi findings, but couldn’t endorse their findings until they’d examined the evidence. Now it looks like they’ve come to the same conclusion,” said Douglas Barrie, senior fellow for military aerospace at the International Institute for Strategic Studies.
2) Iranian arms “may have been transferred in a manner inconsistent” with UN resolution 2231 and the JCPOA.

The US seized two hauls of arms and related materials in the Arabian Sea, believed to be headed for Yemen, in November 2019 and February 2020.

The UN found these shipments to contain the following material:

a) Container launch units of anti-tank missiles “of Iranian origin,”

b) Fifteen POS-type optical weapon sights that were delivered to Iran between February 2016 and April 2018,

c) Thermal optical weapon sights that had “design characteristics similar ... to those also produced by a commercial entity in Iran,”

d) A keyboard of a computer terminal associated with the anti-ship missile, a relay box tester of an unidentified missile, and a navigation antenna and module of the cruise missile, all of which had Farsi markings on them.

According to Guterres, “these items may have been transferred in a manner inconsistent” with UN resolution 2231.
3) Despite these findings, the UN still sees the JCPOA as the best way to ensure Iran does not develop a non-peaceful nuclear weapon.

Secretary-General Guterres reiterated the UN’s support for the nuclear deal.

“I regret the May 2018 withdrawal of the United States from the Plan, as well as the steps taken by the Islamic Republic of Iran since 2019 to cease performing its nuclear-related commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action,” wrote Guterres.

Guterres also acknowledged the concerns raised by the UK, France, and Germany and their call for Iran to reverse its violations of the deal.

“I appeal again to the Islamic Republic to return to full implementation of the Plan. I also urge the Islamic Republic of Iran to carefully take into account and urgently address the other concerns raised by other participants,” he said.

Guterres also said that it is “vital” that the procurement channel for nuclear-related provisions continue to operate.
Video and photographic evidence of Iranian missiles and weapons

The UN report examined several pieces of evidence.

The first were two caches of arms and related material seized by US raids on ships in the Arabian Sea in November, 2019, and February, 2020.
November 25, 2019, dhow seizure

“On November 25, a US warship conducted a flag verification boarding in the Arabian sea in accordance with international law of what was subsequently determined to be a stateless vessel, and discovered a cache of weapons and advanced missile components,” said Pentagon spokesperson Cmdr. Sean Robertson in a statement at the time. “An initial investigation indicates that these advanced missile components are of Iranian origin. A more thorough investigation is underway.”

Additional evidence seen by Al Arabiya English

On top of the evidence surveyed by the UN, Al Arabiya English has obtained a range of photographic and video evidence of Iranian missiles and arms shipments collected by the Arab Coalition.

This material comes from a previously undisclosed raid on a dhow on April 17, 2020, revealing caches of weapons and arms bound for Yemen for the first time.

The material obtained by Al Arabiya English also includes missile parts and debris from a range of attacks against Saudi Arabia, as well as exclusive footage showing new angles of the attack on Saudi Arabia’s Abha airport in 2019.