A British military vessel has seized a shipment of advanced Iranian missiles that was headed to Yemen.
The UK Embassy in the United Arab Emirates announced the seizure of surface-to-air missiles and engines for land attack cruise missiles, saying it was 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,” UK Armed Forces Minister James Heappey said.
The shipment was seized by a British Royal Navy vessel in the Gulf of Oman earlier this year.
The incident provides documentation that Tehran is arming the Houthi rebels with advanced weaponry, smuggled through the Persian Gulf, against the Yemen government and the Saudi-led military coalition fighting to restore it.
