Smuggled Iranian missiles seized by British Navy

Iranian surface-to-air missiles and engines for cruise missiles have been seized by Britain's Royal Navy in international waters.

A statement issued by the Royal Navy stated that a helicopter from the frigate HMS Montrose spotted speedboats moving away from the Iranian coast.

When they were pursued, it was found they contained advanced weaponry such as 351 land-attack cruise missiles and a batch of 358 surface-to-air missiles.

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Supporting Britain's claims Central Command spokesperson Colonel Joseph Buccino said, "This action demonstrates that we will not allow irresponsible and aggressive acts by Iran to go unchecked on land, sea, and air."

Accusing Britain of being complicit in the war against Yemen, Iran denied the claims and said the UK “does not have the moral authority to make a claim against the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

Iranian foreign ministry's spokesperson Nasser Kanaani said in a tweet, "By continuously selling advanced weapons to the self-proclaimed military coalition against the defenseless people of Yemen, Britain has been a partner in the war and aggression against Yemen, and it is not in a position to make such baseless accusations about the Islamic Republic of Iran and assume a humanitarian face.”

With a range of 1,000 km (620 miles), the 351 cruise missile is often used by Yemen's Houthi group to target Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

In a conflict widely seen as a proxy war between the two Western-backed Arab Gulf states and Iran, Riyadh and Abu Dhabi have been at war with the Iran-aligned Houthis since 2015.

(With inputs from agencies)

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