UK’s Royal Navy says it has seized smuggled Iranian weapons in Gulf of Oman

London: The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom said on Thursday it had seized Iranian weapons, including critical anti-tank guided missiles, in February from a smugglers’ vessel in international waters in the Gulf of Oman.

The vessel was detected travelling south from Iran at high speed late at night under cover of darkness by an unmanned US intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance plane, and was also tracked by a British helicopter, the United Kingdom has revealed.

When asked to stop by the Royal Navy, the vessel initially attempted to navigate to Iranian territorial waters but was stopped by a team of Royal Marines, who then boarded the small boat and recovered several suspicious packages, Britain’s Ministry of Defence said.

“This seizure by HMS Lancaster and the permanent presence of the Royal Navy in the Gulf region supports our commitment to uphold international law and tackle activity that threatens peace and security around the world,” British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said in a statement on Thursday.

Prima facie after initial investigation was carried out, it was discovered that the packages contained Iranian anti-tank guided missiles and medium-range ballistic missile components, Britain said, adding that the country had informed the United Nations about the seizure of weapon components.

The latest cache of weapons found on board the Iranian vessel follows two previous seizures also made by the Royal Navy of Iranian weapons in the same region early last year.

Back in 2022, the seized packages were returned to the UK for technical analysis which revealed that the shipment contained multiple rocket engines for the Iranian produced 351 land attack cruise missile and a batch of 358 surface-to-air missiles.

The United Kingdom retains a permanent presence in the Middle East, with naval vessels having been deployed in the region since early 2019, actively supporting multi-national maritime security operations and protecting the interests of the UK and its allies in international waters.

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