Britain's Royal Navy announced on Thursday that it had seized Iranian weapons last month, including anti-tank guided missiles, from a smuggler vessel in international waters in the Gulf of Oman.
According to Reuters, Britain said the vessel was seen traveling south from Iran at high speed during the hours of darkness by an unmanned U.S. intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance plane and was also tracked by a British helicopter.
When called by the British Navy, the vessel initially attempted to navigate to Iranian territorial waters but was stopped by a team of Royal Marines, who boarded the small vessel and recovered suspicious packages.
British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace stated: "This seizure by HMS Lancaster and the permanent presence of the Royal Navy in the Gulf region supports our commitment to uphold international law and tackle activity that threatens peace and security around the world."
Initial inspection suggested the packages included Iranian anti-tank guided missiles and medium-range ballistic missile components, Britain said, adding that it had informed the United Nations about the seizure.
The naval front with Iran has been troubling all nations operating in the region. Last week, Vice Adm. Brad Cooper, the head of the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet, which is charged with patrolling the waters around the Arabian peninsula, told AP, "I think over two years, we have for sure seen an increase in the number of (Iran's) malign activities, much of which we've been catching just in the last 60 to 90 days."
While Cooper pointed to recent weapons confiscations by American and allied forces in the region as a success, he acknowledged that Iran has been able to carry out drone attacks targeting shipping in the Middle East and other assaults in the region.