The british royal navy He said on Thursday that on February 23 he seized a shipment of Iranian weapons, including anti-tank guided missiles, on a smuggling ship in international waters in the Gulf of Oman.
Britain said the vessel was detected traveling to the south of iran at high speed during the hours of darkness for a US intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance drone., and was also tracked by a British helicopter.
When it was located by the Navy, the ship initially tried to sail towards Iranian territorial waters, but was stopped by a team of Royal Marines, who then boarded the small boat and recovered the suspicious packages, according to the British Ministry of Defense.
“This seizure by the HMS Lancaster and the permanent presence of the Royal Navy in the Gulf region support our commitment to uphold international law and to tackle activities that threaten peace and security around the world,” said the British Defense Secretary, in a statement. Ben Wallace.
Initial inspection suggested that the packages included Iranian Dehlavieh anti-tank guided missiles and components of medium range ballistic missiles Britain said, adding that it had informed the United Nations about the seizure.
“Coordinated efforts between the maritime forces of USA and the United Kingdom led the Royal Navy frigate HMS Lancaster (F229) to seize anti-tank guided missiles and missile components from a small vessel originating from Iran,” said the US 5th Fleet, stationed in brahein.
It’s about the seventh operation against illegal weapons or drugs carried out in the last three months in the Gulf of Omansaid Vice Admiral Brad Coopercommander of the United States Naval Forces Central Command, the United States 5th Fleet, and the Combined Marine Forces.
In this period of time they have seized more than 5,000 weapons1.6 million rounds of ammunition, 7,000 rocket proximity fuzes, 2,100 kilograms of propellant used to launch rocket-propelled grenades, 30 anti-tank guided missiles, medium-range ballistic missile components, and illegal drugs worth $80 million dollars, according to the Fifth Fleet.
This interception occurs throughout a route historically used for illicit arms trafficking to Yemen.
In it Yementhe Shia Houthi rebelsbacked by Tehranbegan a civil conflict against the forces of the internationally recognized government in 2014, and the following year it escalated due to the intervention of the military coalition led by Saudi Arabia.
From 2014the conflict in Yemen has left hundreds of thousands of dead and has plunged the poorest country on the Arabian peninsula into one of the worst humanitarian crises of all the world.
The fighting has ceased since April 2022, thanks to a truce negotiated by the UN for six months. This agreement expired last October and the two parties have failed to reach an agreement.
(With information from Reuters, AFP and EFE)
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Source-www.infobae.com