British officials have thwarted attempts to ship missile parts to Iran after seizing dual-use components destined for the country’s missile industry at London's Heathrow Airport, The National newspaper reported.
The UAE daily quoted officials as saying that the seizure had now become part of a sanctions enforcement investigation and hope to prosecute individuals or firms involved for suspected violations of UN sanctions.
Officials speaking to The London Evening Standard said the Heathrow bust took place on a shipment of o-rings, the rubber sealant equipment, that were apparently bound for an Iranian oil industry facility.
Monique Wrench, the UK Border Force’s deputy director at the airport, said the shipment was stopped when staff became suspicious the rings could be used for making missiles.
“We had a couple of O rings that we identified. O rings are pieces of rubber that go between tubes to stop leakage to seal them. They can be used in oil, but they can also be used for warheads and the like. Our staff stopped them from going to Iran," she said.
“It is a component part. It looked like it was going to an oil refinery. But the dots don’t quite join up here,” Wrench told the Standard.
A spokesman also told the newspaper that British Customs investigators worked “with partner agencies to enforce trade sanctions (on) exports of strategic goods (with) robust enforcement activity against breaches and attempted breaches of trade and export controls”.
The sale, supply, transfer or export of missile-related goods and technology to Iran is banned under sanctions enforced by Britain and other countries.
The United States, which has pulled out of the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers, is slapping fresh sanctions on Tehran on Monday.
Critics of the agreement say that allowing Iran to continue developing non-nuclear missiles could enable it to deliver atomic warheads sooner once nuclear restrictions expire.
