The U.S. Central Command announced today, Monday, January 22, 2024, the death of two American sailors who had been missing during the seizure of Iranian weapons in the Arabian Sea about two weeks ago.

The command stated in a statement that it has changed the status of the two individuals from missing to deceased, after a search that lasted 10 days.

The U.S. military had announced that the two personnel were lost on January 11, during an operation to seize Iranian weapons headed to the Houthis in Yemen, and explained that the missing personnel had boarded the ship during an operation off the coast of Somalia.

The U.S. Central Command operating in the Middle East also said in a statement: "We regret to announce that after a comprehensive search lasting 10 days, during which the location of the two missing U.S. Navy personnel was not determined, their status has been changed to deceased."

It added: "The search and rescue operation for the two special forces personnel reported missing while boarding an illegal sailing vessel carrying advanced conventional Iranian weapons has ended, and we are now conducting recovery operations."

Meanwhile, the U.S. Central Command revealed that "during this extensive search operation, U.S., Japanese, and Spanish airborne and naval forces continuously searched over 21,000 square miles to locate the missing."