Iran says British arms smuggling is ‘fake news’

Iran on Friday rejected a claim by the British and US navies that Iranian weapons had been seized from a smuggler boat bound for Yemen.

The State Department accused Western allies of diverting attention from their own arming of a Saudi Arabian-led coalition that has been waging a destructive campaign against Iran-backed rebels in Yemen since 2015.

“The countries that have been the main perpetrators of war throughout history are trying to deceive the world’s public opinion by making false claims and promoting fake news,” ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani said in a statement.

“The countries that have caused the death of people and the destruction of Yemen by sending billions of dollars worth of weapons to the aggressor coalition cannot exonerate themselves by blaming others.”

On Thursday, the British Embassy in the United Arab Emirates announced that the Royal Navy had seized Iranian-made weapons from a smuggling ship off the coast of Oman last week.

The small craft, traveling at “high speed” in international waters after dark, was initially spotted by US air surveillance, an embassy statement said.

The weapons recovered include medium-range ballistic missiles and Iranian versions of Russia’s Kornet anti-tank missile, it added.

The seizure took place on Feb. 23 along a route traditionally used to smuggle weapons into Yemen, according to the United States’ Bahrain-based Fifth Fleet.

“This is the seventh illegal gun or drug ban in the past three months and yet another example of Iran’s increasing malicious maritime activity across the region,” said US Vice Admiral Brad Cooper.

In January, the US Navy said it seized more than 2,000 assault rifles smuggled on a fishing boat along a maritime route from Iran to Yemen.

Iran’s regional rival Saudi Arabia has accused it of providing military support to the Yemeni rebels, particularly missiles and missile components, which Tehran denies.

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The conflict in Yemen has directly or indirectly killed hundreds of thousands of people and pushed millions to the brink of famine, according to the United Nations, which is calling it the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.

Since the entry into force of a UN-led ceasefire last April, fighting has been largely suspended, even after the agreement expired in October.

The UN Security Council extended an arms embargo against the Huthis in February 2022.

pm/kir