Aden (South24 Center)

Yemen’s National Resistance Forces announced on Thursday (October 30) that, in a joint operation by their units, they had seized a boat in the Bab al-Mandab Strait smuggling chemical materials and military equipment bound for the Houthi militia. 

In a statement, the Military Media Department of the National Resistance said that a Coast Guard patrol from the Red Sea sector, acting on intelligence provided by the General Intelligence Division, intercepted on October 9 a wooden vessel that had departed from the coast of Djibouti and entered Yemeni waters through the Bab al-Mandab Strait, and towed it to a secure location for inspection. 

The statement added that the shipment onboard included 24 barrels of phenol formaldehyde polymer — a compound used in the thermal insulation of missiles and in the manufacture of lightweight drone fuselages. It is also used in electromagnetic wave-absorbing materials to reduce the radar signature of aircraft and warships.

ضبطت المقاومة الوطنية، بعملية نوعية مشتركة لبحريتها واستخباراتها العامة وخفر السواحل، في باب المندب شحنة مهربة لمليشيا الحوثي الإرهابية تحوي كمية من المواد الكيميائية ومهام عسكرية متنوعة.

وأفاد الإعلام العسكري للمقاومة الوطنية بأن دورية مشتركة من خفر السواحل- قطاع البحر الأحمر… pic.twitter.com/jaByxho0LN

— وكالة 2 ديسمبر الإخبارية (@2decnews) October 30, 2025

The cargo also contained chemical protective suits and masks, military uniforms, night-vision goggles, helmets, diving gear, camouflage fabrics, and various military supplies. 

A video released by the Military Media showed one of the barrels whose contents had hardened upon exposure to air during inspection. The statement accused smuggling networks linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) of orchestrating the operation. 

Reuters, in a report, said it could not independently verify the contents of the shipment or the allegations regarding external involvement. The Houthi group did not immediately comment on the incident. 

The National Resistance is a military force led by Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council member Tareq Saleh and based in the city of Mokha, Taiz. It is primarily composed of former Republican Guard units loyal to ex-Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who was killed by the Houthis in December 2017.