US forces have intercepted a ship in the Indian Ocean last month and seized military-related cargo believed to be destined for Iran from China, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing US officials.
According to the report published on Friday, a US special operations team boarded the vessel several hundred miles off the coast of Sri Lanka and confiscated the cargo before allowing the ship to continue its journey.
US officials said Washington had been tracking the shipment prior to the operation.
The previously undisclosed raid was part of a Pentagon effort to disrupt Iran’s clandestine military procurement following a 12-day conflict in June, during which Israel and the United States inflicted heavy damage on Iran’s nuclear and missile facilities, the Journal reported.
US officials told the newspaper that the seized cargo consisted of components potentially useful for Iran’s conventional weapons programme.
The items were described as dual-use materials, meaning they could be used for both civilian and military purposes.
One official said the shipment was destroyed.
The Journal said US intelligence suggested the cargo was destined for Iranian companies specialising in procuring components for the country’s missile programme.
The operation involved both special operations forces and conventional military units, according to US officials cited in the report.
It marked the first time in recent years that the US military is known to have intercepted cargo of Chinese origin en route to Iran, the Journal reported.
The ship’s name and ownership could not be determined.
US Indo-Pacific Command, which carried out the operation, declined to comment.
Spokespeople for Iran and China’s foreign ministry did not respond to requests for comment, according to the newspaper.
New US strategy
The operation took place weeks before the United States seized a sanctioned oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela that had been used to transport oil from Venezuela to Iran.
The Journal said the incidents underscored the Trump administration’s use of more aggressive maritime tactics against adversaries, tactics that US officials have rarely employed in recent years.
The seizure also came as the United Nations reimposed an international ban on Iran’s arms trade in late September, the report noted.
In recent years, the United States has seized several shipments of Iranian weapons and oil.
In January 2024, US Central Command confiscated Iranian-made ballistic and cruise missile components bound for Yemen’s Houthi group near the coast of Somalia.
US authorities also seized Iranian oil shipments in 2020 and 2023, saying the proceeds benefited Iran’s IRGC.
