Direct proof of transfer context
The Hoshdar-M appears in the 2014 Yemen Civil War record through maritime interdiction evidence rather than confirmed battlefield firing. Conflict Armament Research reported that FS Provence intercepted a dhow on 20 March 2016 carrying 64 new-condition Hoshdar-M SVD-pattern sniper rifles, and said the wider February-March 2016 dhow seizures were suspected to have originated in Iran and to have been destined for Somalia and Yemen.
The United Nations Somalia and Eritrea Monitoring Group later inspected the La Provence seizure in France and identified 64 sniper rifles with characteristics consistent with Iranian-produced SVD sniper rifles, Hoshdar-M. The UN annex recorded that the dhow was heading toward Somalia and that the rifles appeared newly manufactured with mostly sequential serial numbers.
A U.S. Defense Department account of the 2015-2016 interdictions stated that the United States concluded the arms from those interdictions originated in Iran and were intended for delivery to the Houthis in Yemen. That supports cataloging the Hoshdar-M under Houthi-aligned forces as an interdicted supply case, while the available sources do not document Hoshdar-M rifles being fired in Yemen.
Sources: CAR Maritime Interdictions Report, UN Somalia and Eritrea Monitoring Group Report S/2017/924, U.S. Defense Department Gulf of Aden Seizure Account
Timeline
On 20 March 2016, FS Provence stopped and boarded the dhow associated with the Hoshdar-M seizure. CAR's November 2016 dispatch tied the shipment to a broader pattern of dhow arms movements toward Somalia and Yemen and highlighted the Hoshdar-M rifles as part of the Provence cargo.
The UN Monitoring Group's 2017 report added a later inspection record: monitors were granted access to weapons storage in France from 7 to 9 March 2017, documented the Hoshdar-M rifles, and noted optical sights from the same seizure that were intended for use with SVD sniper rifles.
Sources: CAR Maritime Interdictions Report, UN Somalia and Eritrea Monitoring Group Report S/2017/924
Role in the Yemen arms pipeline
The Hoshdar-M evidence sits inside a small-arms and guided-weapons pipeline rather than a documented tactical episode. CAR reported that French government sources described the FS Provence dhow as destined for Somalia for possible transhipment to Yemen, directly or through Eritrea, and CAR found broader evidence of dhow routes using Somali ports as arms markets or onward transhipment points toward Yemen.
The rifle-specific evidence is still precise. CAR identified 64 new-condition Hoshdar-M rifles with sequential serial numbers in the FS Provence seizure. The UN report separately characterized the same rifles as Iranian-produced SVD sniper rifles and noted that Hoshdar-M rifles manufactured by Iran's Defence Industries Organization could also appear under the name Nakhjir.
For the 2014 Yemen Civil War page, the supported claim is therefore transfer and intended-delivery context for Houthi-aligned forces. The sources support Iranian-origin or Iran-linked supply assessments and intended movement toward Yemen; they do not provide a dated incident of Hoshdar-M battlefield employment in Yemen.
Sources: CAR Maritime Interdictions Report, UN Somalia and Eritrea Monitoring Group Report S/2017/924, Washington Institute Iran Arms Smuggling Analysis
