British seize Iran missiles, parts bound for Yemen

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The British navy seized anti-tank missiles and fins for ballistic missile assemblies during a raid on a small boat heading from Iran likely to Yemen, authorities said Thursday, the latest such seizure in the Gulf of Oman.

The seizure by the Royal Navy comes after other seizures by French and U.S. forces in the region as Western powers increase their pressure on Iran, which is now enriching uranium closer than ever to weapons-grade levels. It also comes as regional and international powers try to find an end to the yearslong war gripping Yemen, the Arab world’s poorest country, and as Iran arms Russia in its war on Ukraine.

The raid took place Feb. 23 after an American aircraft detected a small motorboat with cargo covered by a gray tarp heading from Iran, with a helicopter from the Royal Navy frigate HMS Lancaster chasing the vessel as it ignored being hailed by radio, the British Defense Ministry said. The boat tried to re-enter Iranian territorial water, but was stopped before it could.

Inside the boat, British troops found Russian-designed 9M133 Kornet anti-tank guided missiles, weapons also manufactured in Iran, the U.S. Navy’s Mideast-based 5th Fleet and the British navy said. Those weapons have been seen in other seizures suspected to be from Iran and bound for Yemen.

Sailors found small fins that the U.S. Navy identified as jet vanes for medium-range ballistic missiles, as well as devices the Navy identified as “impact sensor covers” that go on the tips of those missiles.

While the British did not say where it suspected the weapons would go, the U.S. Navy said the seizure happened “along a route historically used to traffic weapons unlawfully to Yemen.”