Tehran, Jul 8 (IANS): The spokesman of Iran's Foreign Ministry on Friday rejected the British government's claim that it had seized the shipment of Iranian weapons to Yemen, according to the ministry's website.

Nasser Kanaani dismissed the claim as "baseless and outdated," accusing Britain of being "complicit" in the war in Yemen.

Britain has been continuously selling advanced weapons to the Saudi-led military coalition against "the defenseless people of Yemen," Xinhua news agency quoted Kanaani as saying.

Yemen has been mired in a civil war since late 2014 when the Iran-backed Houthis seized control of several northern provinces and forced the Saudi-backed Yemeni government out of the capital Sanaa.

"Without any doubt, the British government's approach in keeping up arms exports to the aggressors is among the reasons behind the prolongation of the inhumane war on Yemen," Kanaani said

"Therefore, this country does not have the required moral qualifications to level accusations against Iran," he added.

The British government's statement followed an earlier video report by Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), in which the IRGC claimed to have arrested the deputy head of the British embassy in Tehran for "spying activities."