Iran rejects UK claims of seizing arms sent to Yemen
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Tehran rejects claims made by London that the latter had seized Yemen-bound weapons.
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The British HMS Montrose that allegedly seized Iranian armed shipments to Yemen
Tehran rejected on Friday claims made by London that a British warship seized a shipment of advanced arms bound for Yemen, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said.
The British Ministry of Defense said Thursday that one of its warships patrolling the Gulf earlier this year seized the arms shipment.
London's claims are "baseless", and the United Kingdom is an accomplice to the war on Yemen, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanani said.
He also recalled the United Kingdom's arms sales to Saudi Arabia, which helped Riyadh maintain its war on Yemen for the better half of a decade. The weapons sales to Saudi Arabia gave it "no moral authority to make a claim against the Islamic Republic of Iran," Kanani said.
Saudi Arabia, along with several other Gulf states, and the United States - until as of late - has been waging an unlawful war on Yemen since 2015.
"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," he stressed.
London claimed that the HMS Montrose intercepted speedboats carrying surface-to-air missiles and engines for ground-to-ground cruise missiles while on routine patrols on two occasions in January and February.
The British Defense Ministry argued that the types of cruise missiles seized are the same ones used by the Yemeni Sanaa armed forces against the Saudi-led coalition.
The Gulf waters have been a playground for violations committed by the Saudi-led coalition, with a ship coming from the United Arab Emirates looting 400,000 barrels of crude oil from the Radhum port of the Yemeni Shabwa province in late June.
The looting of crude oil from Yemen comes in light of the continuation of the organized looting of the oil revenues and the country's wealth by the Saudi-led coalition and its mercenaries.
The official source urged the international community and organizations to intervene in order to stop the ongoing tampering with the wealth of the Yemenis.
