The United Kingdom’s Defence Ministry on Thursday revealed that the Royal Navy seized Iranian missile shipments bound for Yemen earlier this year, noting that it was the “first time a British Naval warship has interdicted a vessel carrying such sophisticated weapons from Iran.”
The HMS Montrose seized Iranian weapons from speedboats operated by smugglers in the Gulf of Oman in January and February. “The weapons seized included surface-to-air-missiles and engines for land attack cruise missiles, in contravention of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2216,” the statement added. The Resolution was adopted in 2015 and imposed a ban on the supply of weapons to Yemen’s Houthi rebels.
Royal Marines found “dozens of packages containing advanced weaponry,” which were confiscated and brought back to HMS Montrose. Following a “technical analysis” of the missiles, experts found that the package contained multiple rocket engines for the Iranian-produced 351 land-attack cruise missiles.
The Ministry claimed that the 351 was regularly used by the Houthis to strike targets in Saudi Arabia and in an attack on Abu Dhabi in January that killed three people.
“The UK will continue to work in support of an enduring peace in Yemen and is committed to international maritime security so that commercial shipping can transit safely without threat of disruption,” Armed Forces Minister James Heappey said.
On Friday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Naser Kanani retorted the UK “is not in a position to make such baseless accusations” against Iran. “By continuously selling advanced weapons to the self-proclaimed military coalition against the defenceless people of Yemen, UK has been a partner in the war and aggression against Yemen,” he said.
In a first for the @RoyalNavy, @HMSMontrose seized smuggled Iranian missiles in international waters south of Iran.
— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) July 7, 2022
Defence Minister @JSHeappey has visited the UAE, looking at how the UK supports maritime security in the region.
Read more ➡️https://t.co/sv1V743TbI pic.twitter.com/lzmKYonuEm
He also quoted reports saying that London sold advanced weapons, including bombs, guided missiles, and fighter jets, worth over $9 billion to the Saudi-led coalition. Furthermore, Kanani accused the UK of aiding war crimes committed by the “aggressor coalition” against the Yemeni people. To this end, he asserted that the UK “does not have the moral authority to make a claim” against Iran.
Iran’s mission to the UN also rejected the UK’s claims as “groundless,” statingg that Iran “never transported weapons or military equipment to Yemen” in violation of Resolution 2216 and has “always upheld its international obligations.”
The UK’s claim came a day after Iran announced that it arrested four foreigners, including the UK’s deputy ambassador, Giles Whitaker, on espionage charges. Iranian media claimed the foreigners were collecting soil samples near a site where the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) had conducted ballistic missile tests.
The British Foreign Ministry denied that its diplomat had been arrested and called the reports “completely false.” On Thursday, the British ambassador to Iran, Simon Shercliff, said that Whitaker completed his term and left the country in December.
The arrests also follow a rise in tensions between Iran and the West over Tehran’s nuclear programme. Tehran recently suspended all contact with the IAEA after the agency passed a resolution censuring Tehran for not cooperating with the organisation and hiding its nuclear activities.
Iran shut down 27 IAEA surveillance cameras across nuclear sites. It also announced that it would install two IR-6 advanced centrifuges at the Natanz facility to enhance its ability to enrich uranium rapidly. An IR-6 centrifuge spins uranium ten times faster than other centrifuges. The move could allow Iran to quickly add to its stockpile of enriched uranium, which the IAEA says is sufficient to produce a nuclear weapon.
In response, the United States on Wednesday imposed sanctions on 15 individuals and entities “that engaged in the illicit sales and shipment” of Iranian petroleum products, including front companies from Vietnam, Singapore, China, and the United Arab Emirates. Noting that Iran has “failed to demonstrate” any interest in reviving the 2015 nuclear deal, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, “Absent a change in course from Iran, we will continue to use our sanctions authorities” against its petroleum sector.