Weapons components seized by the U.S. Navy during a Jan. 11, 2024, raid off the coast of Somalia are displayed in this undated photo released by U.S. Central Command on Jan. 16, 2024. The captain of the dhow transporting the Iranian-made weapons to Yemen was convicted on smuggling charges Thursday. (U.S. Central Command)

A Pakistani man has been convicted of federal charges for his role in a scheme to smuggle Iranian-made weapons to Houthi militants in Yemen, including those found during a shipboard raid that resulted in the deaths of two Navy SEALs.

Muhammad Pahlawan, 49, was found guilty Thursday by a federal jury in Virginia of conspiring to provide material support or resources to terrorists, the Justice Department said in a statement the same day.

He also was convicted of separate charges of providing and attempting to provide material support to Iran and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and of threatening witnesses, among other charges.

His sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 22, with most of the six convictions each carrying a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, the Justice Department said. A federal judge will determine sentencing after reviewing guidelines and other statutory factors.

Pahlawan was the captain of an unflagged small vessel, or dhow, boarded by U.S. Navy forces, including SEALs and members of the U.S. Coast Guard Maritime Security Response Team East, on Jan. 11, 2024, off the coast of Somalia.

During the nighttime raid, Pahlawan instructed his crew not to stop the vessel and to burn it down. He also told them to lie about the ship’s cargo to the boarding team and falsely identify him as a mechanic rather than the ship’s captain, according to court records.

Muhammad Pahlawan, who captained this dhow shown in an undated photo released by U.S. Central Command on Jan. 16, 2024, was found guilty Thursday by a federal jury in Virginia of conspiring to provide support to terrorists. The vessel was raided by U.S. Navy forces off the coast of Somalia on Jan. 11, 2024. (U.S. Central Command)

The interdiction team subsequently discovered ballistic missile and anti-ship cruise missile parts and a warhead, according to the Justice Department.

Those weapons have been used by Houthi militants in targeting commercial and military ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden following Hamas’ attack on Israel in October 2024.

During the raid, Chief Petty Officer Christopher Chambers lost his grip while attempting to board the dhow and fell into heavy seas.

Petty Officer 1st Class Nathan Gage Ingram jumped into the water to try to save Chambers, but the two were weighed down by equipment and drowned. Both were lost at sea.

Ingram in May was posthumously awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Medal for his “bravery and selflessness.”

The January 2024 incident was one of several trips in which Pahlawan worked with Iranian brothers Shahab Mir’kazei and Yunus Mir’kazei to smuggle materials from Iran to the Houthis, the Justice Department said.

The operation included multiple smuggling voyages from about August 2023 to January 2024, during which cargo was transported from Iran to the coast of Somalia and transferred to another vessel.

Pahlawan was sent coordinates by the brothers for the ship-to-ship transfers “and received multiple payments from them for his role in the smuggling operation,” prosecutors said.

An investigation released in October concluded that the deaths of Ingram and Chambers were preventable.

It cited deficiencies in training, policies, tactics and procedures as well as conflicting guidance on when and how to use emergency flotation devices and extra buoyancy material that could have kept them alive, The Associated Press reported at the time.