Free Republic

U.S. officials have confirmed to Fox News Thursday that a U.S. Navy warship intercepted Iranian-made weapons from a vessel in the Arabian Sea earlier this week. Crew members from the USS Normandy seized a huge cache of weapons from a dhow – a small vessel with lateen sails – on Sunday while conducting maritime security operations in the U.S. Central area of operations. The weapons and weapon components were intended for the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, according to officials.

A U.S. aircraft carrier and its warplanes are shadowing an Iranian convoy approaching Yemen, Pentagon sources told Fox News, amid suspicions that the ships may be carrying weapons for rebel fighters. Sources told Fox News that the USS Theodore Roosevelt is not only tracking the convoy, but also launching F/A-18 Hornets to conduct "manned reconnaissance" of the estimated nine ships in the Iranian convoy. The movements escalate a standoff in the waters off Yemen, even as the U.S. and other world powers are trying to hammer out a diplomatic deal with Iran on its nuclear program. Already, the U.S. and...

A child awaits the return of his grandfather aboard the guided-missile cruiser USS Normandy, Sept. 25, 2005, as the ship returns to Naval Station Norfolk following a six-month deployment in support of the Global War on Terror. USS Normandy is an element of the Kearsarge Expeditionary Strike Group, along with the guided-missile frigate USS Kauffman, which also returned to Norfolk Sept. 25. U.S. Navy photo by Seaman Christopher Okula  More photos USS Kauffman, USS Normandy Return From Deployment While deployed, the strike group ships conducted maritime security operations for the U.S. 5th Fleet and theater security cooperation for the...