Missing US Navy SEALs presumed dead after raid on ship to seize Iranian-supplied weapons

Two US Navy SEALs who went missing during a raid to seize advanced Iranian-supplied weapons are now presumed to be dead.

In a post on X, US Central Command said that after an exhaustive 10-day search, the two personnel had not been located and their status has been changed to "deceased".

CentCom said the search and rescue operation had ended, with recovery operations now underway.

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The search operation, which saw airborne and naval teams from the US, Japan and Spain take part, searched over 21,000 square miles continuously in an attempt to find the pair.

Out of respect for the families of the missing Navy SEALs, CentCom said no further information would be released.

General Michael Kurilla, the commander of US Central Command, said prayers were with "the SEALs' families, friends, the US Navy and the entire Special Operations community".

"We mourn the loss of our two Naval Special Warfare warriors, and we will forever honour their sacrifice and example," he said.

The raid saw US forces conduct  a night-time seizure of a dhow, a type of small ship, in the Arabian Gulf

The SEALs, who were operating from the USS Lewis B Puller, an expeditionary mobile base vessel, boarded the dhow near the coast of Somalia, with helicopter and UAV support.

They seized Iranian-made ballistic missile and cruise missiles components, including propulsion, guidance and warheads for Houthi medium-range ballistic missiles and anti-ship cruise missiles, as well as air defence components.