Weapons seized by Royal Navy ship HMS Montrose have been
presented to the UN as evidence, linking an Iranian state
organisation – the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) – to
the smuggling of weapon systems in violation of a UN Security
Council Resolution.
On two occasions in early 2022, HMS
Montrose seized Iranian weapons from speedboats operated
by smugglers in international waters south of Iran. The items
included surface-to-air-missiles and engines for land attack
cruise missiles, in contravention of UN Security Council
Resolutions 2231 and 2140 (2015).
The weapons were presented to representatives of the United
Nations who provide an assessment of the conflict in Yemen and
Iranian nuclear activity. The interdictions were referred to in
the Secretary General’s UNSCR 2231 report published in Dec 2022
and are expected to feature in the UNSCR 2140 annual report that
will shortly be released.
Defence Secretary said:
The UK is committed to upholding international law and will
continue to counter Iranian activity that contravenes United
Nation Security Council Resolutions and threatens peace across
the world.
That is why we have a permanent Royal Navy deployment in the Gulf
region, conducting vital maritime security operations and working
in support of an enduring peace in Yemen.
Minister of State for the Middle East, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad
of Wimbledon said:
Once again the Iranian regime has been exposed for its reckless
proliferation of weapons and destabilising activity in the
region.
Iran’s sustained military support to the Houthis and continued
violation of the arms embargo has stoked further conflict and
undermined UN-led peace efforts.
The UK will continue to act to protect the security of our
partners and hold Iran to account.
A key piece of evidence presented by the UK was a commercial
quadcopter drone designed for reconnaissance activities. By
decrypting the internal memory of the uncrewed aerial vehicle
(UAV) controllers, the UK Ministry of Defence discovered the
records of 22 test flights conducted at the IRGC Aerospace Force
Headquarters and test facility in western Tehran. The UAV was in
the same shipment as a number of Surface to Air Missiles and
components for the Iranian Project 351 land attack cruise
missile. This evidence indicated a direct link between the
Iranian state and the smuggling of missile systems being used by
the Houthis to attack the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United
Arab Emirates.
The Royal Navy has a permanent deployment of a Type 23 Frigate,
equipped with a Royal Marine boarding party and a Wildcat
helicopter to support maritime security operations in the Gulf of
Oman. After four years continuous service in the region, HMS
Montrose was replaced by HMS Lancaster in 2022. The UK stands
alongside its partners in the region and is committed to
disrupting the illegal flow of these weapons systems as well as
narcotics and human trafficking.
The threat posed by long range weapons made in Iran is not
limited to the Middle East. Since the invasion of Ukraine,
Iran has supplied hundreds of Shahed one way attack drones to
Russia; these transfers violate UNSCR 2231. These attacks
have killed civilians and damaged critical national
infrastructure (such as power sub stations) far from the front
lines of the conflict.
