A British Royal Navy vessel seized a sophisticated shipment of Iranian missiles in the Gulf of Oman earlier this year, officials said Thursday, pointing to the interdiction as proof of Tehran’s support for the Houthi militias in Yemen.
The British government statement provided some of the strongest findings to date that Tehran is arming the Houthis against the legitimate government with advanced weapons smuggled through the Gulf.
The UK Embassy in the United Arab Emirates described the seizure of surface-to-air-missiles and engines for land attack cruise missiles as "the first time a British naval warship has interdicted a vessel carrying such sophisticated weapons from Iran."
"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," said James Heappey, Minister for the Armed Forces.
Iran’s mission to the United Nations rejected the UK's findings as "groundless," saying that Iran has "never transported weapons or military equipment to Yemen" in violation of the UN arms embargo and "always upheld its international obligations."
The British government's announcement signals an escalation as Western officials have in the past shied away from public statements that definitively blame Iran for arming the Houthis with military contraband. The route of the smuggled shipments through the Arabian Sea or Gulf of Aden, however, has strongly suggested their destination.
Despite a United Nations Security Council arms embargo on Yemen, Iran has long been suspected of transferring rifles, rocket-propelled grenades, missiles and other weaponry to the Houthis since the war began in 2015. Iran denies arming the Houthis, independent experts, Western nations and UN experts have traced components back to Iran.
Citing a forensic analysis last month, the British navy linked the batch of rocket engines seized earlier this year to an Iranian-made cruise missile with a 1,000-kilometer range that it said the militias have used against Saudi Arabia.
The Houthis also used the cruise missile to attack an oil facility in Abu Dhabi in January of this year, the British navy said, an assault that killed three people.
The HMS Montrose’s helicopter had been scanning for illicit goods in the Gulf of Oman on January 28 and February 25 when it spotted small vessels speeding away from the Iranian coast with "suspicious cargo on deck." A team of Royal Marines then halted and searched the boats, confiscating the weapons in international waters south of Iran.
A US Navy guided-missile destroyer supported the British warship's February operation. Fifth Fleet Vice Adm. Brad Cooper said the seizure reflected the Navy’s "strong commitment to regional security and stability."
