French special forces seized a ship carrying weapons and ammunition that had been supplied by Iran to the Houthis in Yemen, The Wall Street Journal reported.

On January 15, a French warship stopped a ship off the coast of Yemen that was suspected of smuggling weapons. On board, the French found more than 3,000 assault rifles, half a million rounds of ammunition and 20 anti-tank guided missiles.

The operation, which was coordinated with the U.S. military, is the result of France's more active role in combating arms smuggling in the Middle East, the newspaper wrote.

More than 5,000 weapons and 1.6 million rounds of ammunition have been intercepted en route to Yemen in the past two months, according to the U.S. military.