Report on Missile Parts Transfer Denied

Iran’s Embassy in London has dismissed claims in a British news report about a suspected attempt to fly missile warhead components to Iran via Heathrow Airport.  The allegations made in the story have no basis in fact and are only media propaganda against Tehran, the diplomatic mission wrote in a letter to London's Evening Standard, which had recently published the news, IRNA reported on Tuesday.  The embassy called on the paper to refrain from making false and hostile claims, which it said are aimed at spreading Iranophobia.  Earlier this month, Evening Standard reported that at least two "O rings"—which can be used to form seals in rockets—were detected during an inspection of cargo  being flown out from the airport.  They were supposedly being sent for use in the Iranian oil industry, the report said. But border force staff halted the shipment after becoming suspicious that the real intention was to use them in missiles.  An investigation is underway which could lead to criminal action against those responsible for sending the parts, the paper wrote.