A US special operations team in the Indian Ocean raided a ship headed to Iran from China last month and seized military-related articles, the Wall Street Journal reports, citing US officials.
The cargo consisted of components potentially useful for Iran’s conventional weapons, one official says, adding the shipment had been destroyed.
US forces boarded the ship several hundred miles off the coast of Sri Lanka, according to the newspaper, which adds the vessel was later allowed to proceed.
US forces raid ship, seize cargo headed to Iran from China
Benoit Faucon, Lara Seligman
A U.S. special operations team boarded a ship in the Indian Ocean last month and seized military-related articles headed to Iran from China, U.S. officials said, a rare interdiction operation at sea aimed at blocking Tehran from rebuilding its military arsenal.
The ship was several hundred miles off the coast of Sri Lanka when the operatives boarded it and confiscated the cargo before letting the vessel proceed, the officials said. The U.S. had been tracking the shipment, according to the officials and another person familiar with the operation.
The previously undisclosed raid was part of a Pentagon effort to disrupt the Islamic Republic’s clandestine military procurement after Israel and the U.S. inflicted heavy damage on its nuclear and missile facilities during a 12-day conflict in June.
It was the first time in recent years that the U.S. military is known to have intercepted cargo with Chinese origins on its way to Iran. The name of the ship and its owner couldn’t be determined.
The operation occurred weeks before the U.S. seized a sanctioned oil tanker on Wednesday off the coast of Venezuela that had been used to transport oil from Venezuela to Iran. It underscored the Trump administration’s use of aggressive maritime tactics against adversaries that the U.S. has rarely used in the recent past.
U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, which carried out the operation, declined to comment. Spokespeople for Iran and China’s foreign ministry didn’t return requests for comment.
The cargo consisted of components potentially useful for Iran’s conventional weapons, one official said, adding that the shipment was destroyed. The seized components were dual-use items, with both civilian and military applications, the official said.
The U.S. had gathered intelligence suggesting the cargo was going to Iranian companies that specialize in procuring components for its missile program, said the second official and the person familiar with the seizure.
The operation included special operations forces as well as conventional forces, according to the first U.S. official.
Iranian officials say they are redoubling efforts to rebuild the country’s ballistic missile arsenal, fearing a new confrontation with Israel. Negotiations with the U.S. over Iran’s disputed nuclear program have yet to resume after they were interrupted by the war.
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