Iran denies UK, US seized arms allegedly sea-smuggled to Yemen

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The Iranian Foreign Ministry on Friday rejected and called false the United Kingdom's statement claiming the seizure of weapons allegedly smuggled by Iranians in the Gulf of Oman and heading to Yemen.

On Thursday, the UK navy claimed that in a joint operation with the US navy, it intercepted the boat and "confiscated" the weapons on board. The navy did not say the boat was Iranian but it tried to escape the chase by "steering their craft towards Iranian territorial waters."

"[Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser] Kanaani rejected this false claim, saying those countries that have supplied weapons worth billions of dollars to an invading coalition and have caused the death of people and destruction of Yemen, cannot acquit themselves of this wrongdoing by making accusations against others," the ministry said.  

The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman called the same countries "the main culprits behind war-mongering throughout history and ... the biggest arms suppliers to crisis zones of the world," and said that accusing Iran and other countries was their attempt to mislead the public opinion.

Secret US contingency plan for war with Iran unmasked: The Intercept

A classified Pentagon budget manual listing emergency and special programs reviewed by The Intercept unmasked that the US military has set a budget for secret contingency operations related to an Iran war plan.

According to the manual for the 2019 budget year, the contingency plan, codenamed "Support Sentry", was financed in 2018 and 2019. It defines "Support Sentry" as an Iran "CONPLAN" or concept plan, which is a broad contingency plan for war developed by the military in advance of a potential crisis.

The existence of "Support Sentry" was kept unreported. The memo does not specify how much money the Pentagon spent on the strategy over the aforementioned years, as per the report.

Responding to a question about the program and whether it is still in place, Maj. John Moore, a spokesperson for US Central Command, or CENTCOM, said as quoted by The Intercept, “As a matter of policy, we do not comment on numbered plans. Iran remains the leading source of instability in the region and is a threat to the United States and our partners. We are constantly monitoring threat streams in coordination with our regional partners and will not hesitate to defend U.S. national interests in the region.”

The report argues that "Support Sentry" is one illustration of the United States military's growing acceptance of – and support for – "Israel's" hostility toward Iran. "Israel can and should do whatever they need to deal with [Iran], and we've got their support," said US Ambassador to "Israel" Tom Nides, earlier this month.

In recent months, the US and "Israel" have also coordinated a growing number of military exercises, which Israeli commanders claim are aimed to test potential assault plans targeting Iran.