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House lawmakers introduce bill to send seized Iranian weapons to U.S. allies

The bipartisan legislation would allow the U.S. to quickly distribute material confiscated by the U.S. in transit from Iran to the Houthis in Yemen

Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., leaves the U.S. Capitol after the House passed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act on Thursday, May 22, 2025.

Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), Jared Moskowitz (D-FL), Jefferson Shreve (R-IN) and Rich McCormick (R-GA) are set to introduce legislation on Monday allowing the U.S. to send seized Iranian weaponry to U.S. allies.

The bill is the House version of the Seized Iranian Arms Transfer Authorization (SEIZE) Act introduced last month in the Senate by Sens. Ted Budd (R-NC) and Mark Kelly (D-AZ).

The SEIZE Act would allow the U.S. to quickly distribute to U.S. partners any weapons or other materiel confiscated by the U.S. in transit from Iran to its Houthi proxies in Yemen, by treating any seized weapons as part of the U.S.’ own stockpiles and authorizing the president to use Washington’s drawdown authority to distribute such weapons to U.S. partners.

Per administration data, the U.S. Navy seized 9,000 rifles, 284 machine guns, 194 rocket launchers, 70 anti-tank missiles and 700,000 rounds of ammunition between May 2021 and January 2023 during operations in the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea.

Drawdown authorities have been used at various points in recent years to supply U.S. allies including Ukraine and Israel.

“Iran — the world’s largest state-sponsor of terror — continues to arm terror proxies that threaten American troops, our bases, and our allies. The SEIZE Act ensures that when these illegal weapons are intercepted, they help our allies who need them, instead of our adversaries,” Gottheimer said in a statement. “Our bipartisan, bicameral legislation will cut through red tape, strengthen our strategic partnerships, keep Americans safe, and counter Iranian aggression.”

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