WATCH: Iran Caught Red-Handed in Arabian Sea as US Ships Intercept Weapons Cache

In the Middle East, turbulence has long been the norm.  Volatility, a way of life.

This is due to the centuries of religious unrest that has tainted the culture.  It’s a violent divisiveness that we, as partisan Americans, should probably keep in the back of our collective minds.

Furthering the trouble are nations such as Iran, who thrive on rabble-rousing western superpowers and disrupting the flow of Saudi Arabian oil to the world at large.  Their long and well documented history of bringing turmoil to the region has a new chapter this week.

Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Normandy (CG-60) seized a cache of Iranian-made anti-tank missiles and other munitions aboard a dhow in the Arabian Sea over the weekend.

Normandy stopped the dhow while conducting maritime security operations over the weekend, in accordance with international law, according to a statement released Thursday by U.S. Central Command.

The seized weapons include:

• 150 Dehlavieh anti-tank missiles, which are Iranian-made version of the Russian Kornet anti-tank missiles

• Three Iranian-made surface-to-air missiles

• Thermal imaging weapon scopes

• Components for manned and unmanned aerial and surface vessels

It was only weeks ago that Iran sent 15 ballistic missiles aloft, aimed at US service members stationed in Iraq.  During that blitz, a Ukrainian passenger plane was “unintentionally” downed as well, killing all 176 on board.

This seizure could be only the tip of the iceberg for the heavily-sanctioned Iran who’ve had decades of economic trouble in which to practice their smuggling techniques.