Houthis (Ansarallah), IRGC
United States v. Ghufran Ullah and 5 others
Status: Ghufran Ullah: Charged, February 22, 2024; Izhar Muhammad: Charged, February 22, 2024; Mohammad Mazhar: Charged, February 22, 2024; Muhammad Pahlawan: Sentenced, October 23, 2025; Shahab Mir’kazei: Charged, August 8, 2024; Yunus Mir’kazei: Charged, August 8, 2024
- District
- Eastern District of Virginia
- Docket number
- 3:24-cr-41; 3:24-mj-16; 3:24-mj-17; 3:24-mj-18; 3:24-mj-19
- Group named in DOJ releases
- Houthis (Ansarallah), IRGC
- Statutes
- Not stated in DOJ release
- First DOJ release
- February 22, 2024
Primary Sources
- United States Charges Four Mariners from Arabian Sea Vessel Transporting Suspected Iranian-Made Advanced Conventional Weapons, Office of Public Affairs, February 22, 2024 (also issued by U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Virginia)
- Two Iranian Nationals and One Pakistani National Indicted for Providing Material Support to Terrorists, Office of Public Affairs, August 8, 2024 (also issued by U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Virginia)
- Federal Jury Convicts Pakistani Weapons Smuggler of Transporting Iranian Advanced Conventional Weapons Destined for the Houthis in Yemen, Office of Public Affairs, June 5, 2025 (also issued by U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Virginia)
- Pakistani National Sentenced to 40 Years for Transporting Iranian-Made Advanced Conventional Weapons, Office of Public Affairs, October 23, 2025 (also issued by U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Virginia)
Status and dates follow these DOJ releases. Docket details from CourtListener (RECAP).
Ghufran Ullah
- Status
- Charged (DOJ release, February 22, 2024)
- From the DOJ release:
Co-defendants Mohammad Mazhar, Ghufran Ullah, and Izhar Muhammad were also charged with providing materially false information to U.S. Coast Guard officers during the boarding of the dhow regarding the vessel’s crew and/or cargo.
- Age
- Not stated
- Charges as described by DOJ
- providing materially false information to U.S. Coast Guard officers during the boarding of the dhow regarding the vessel’s crew and/or cargo
- Charged or arrested
- February 22, 2024
Izhar Muhammad
- Status
- Charged (DOJ release, February 22, 2024)
- From the DOJ release:
Co-defendants Mohammad Mazhar, Ghufran Ullah, and Izhar Muhammad were also charged with providing materially false information to U.S. Coast Guard officers during the boarding of the dhow regarding the vessel’s crew and/or cargo.
- Age
- Not stated
- Charges as described by DOJ
- providing materially false information to U.S. Coast Guard officers during the boarding of the dhow regarding the vessel’s crew and/or cargo
- Charged or arrested
- February 22, 2024
Mohammad Mazhar
- Status
- Charged (DOJ release, February 22, 2024)
- From the DOJ release:
Co-defendants Mohammad Mazhar, Ghufran Ullah, and Izhar Muhammad were also charged with providing materially false information to U.S. Coast Guard officers during the boarding of the dhow regarding the vessel’s crew and/or cargo.
- Age
- Not stated
- Charges as described by DOJ
- providing materially false information to U.S. Coast Guard officers during the boarding of the dhow regarding the vessel’s crew and/or cargo
- Charged or arrested
- February 22, 2024
Muhammad Pahlawan
- Status
- Sentenced (DOJ release, October 23, 2025)
- From the DOJ release:
The U.S. boarding team encountered 14 individual mariners on the vessel, including Pahlawan.
- Age
- 48 (per DOJ release of August 8, 2024)
- Charges as described by DOJ
- intentionally and unlawfully transporting a warhead knowing it would be used by Houthi rebel forces against commercial and naval vessels; providing materially false information to U.S. Coast Guard officers
- Charged or arrested
- February 22, 2024
- Plea or verdict
- June 5, 2025
- Sentencing
- October 23, 2025
- Sentence
- 40 years in prison (DOJ, October 23, 2025)
Shahab Mir’kazei
- Status
- Charged (DOJ release, August 8, 2024)
- From the DOJ release:
Pahlawan is currently awaiting trial, while Shahab and Yunus remain at large.
- Age
- Not stated
- Charges as described by DOJ
- conspiring to provide and providing material support to Iran’s weapons of mass destruction program resulting in death and conspiring to commit violence against maritime navigation and maritime transport involving weapons of mass destruction resulting in death
- Charged or arrested
- August 8, 2024
- Custody
- DOJ describes the defendant as at large
Yunus Mir’kazei
- Status
- Charged (DOJ release, August 8, 2024)
- From the DOJ release:
Pahlawan is currently awaiting trial, while Shahab and Yunus remain at large.
- Age
- Not stated
- Charges as described by DOJ
- conspiring to provide and providing material support to Iran’s weapons of mass destruction program resulting in death and conspiring to commit violence against maritime navigation and maritime transport involving weapons of mass destruction resulting in death
- Charged or arrested
- August 8, 2024
- Custody
- DOJ describes the defendant as at large
Cite: Middle East Forum, Islamist Terrorism Prosecutions, "United States v. Ghufran Ullah and 5 others," accessed October 13, 2026, https://cases.meforum.org/case/us-v-ullah-2024/