Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout is suspected to be preparing a small arms deal with Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi militants, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on Oct. 6.
Viktor Bout gained fame in 2005 after a movie titled "Lord of War," allegedly portraying his life of selling weapons for decades to Middle Eastern, South American, and African clients before he was arrested in 2008 and imprisoned in the U.S.
The arms dealer was released almost two years ago in a prisoner exchange with Russia for U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner. He is suspected of being in talks with the Houthi militia after they went to Moscow in August to negotiate the purchase of $10 million worth of automatic weapons.
If finalized, this deal would be his first arms shipment after imprisonment but would not include anti-ship or anti-air missiles that could pose a threat to the U.S. military's efforts to protect international shipping from the Houthis' attacks, the WSJ wrote.
Tehran, which has deepened ties with Moscow and provided Russia with drones and ballistic missiles for use against Ukraine, has been mediating a deal for the supply of Russian supersonic Yakhont (Onyx) missiles to Houthis, Reuters previously reported.
Yemen's Houthis are an Iran-backed, Muslim political and religious group designated as terrorists by the U.S.
The group fought in Yemen's decade-long civil war and began attacking cargo ships a year ago in the Red Sea as a response to Israel’s military operation in the Gaza Strip.
Chris York
(Updated: )
