WASHINGTON: A US special operations team in the Indian Ocean raided a ship bound for Iran from China last month and seized military-related items, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing US officials.
The cargo consisted of components potentially useful for Iran’s conventional weapons, an official said, adding that the shipment had been destroyed.
US forces boarded the ship several hundred miles off the coast of Sri Lanka, according to the paper, which added that the vessel was later allowed to proceed.
The operation took place in November, weeks before US forces seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, citing sanctions violations.
Trump, who has pressured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to step down, had announced earlier this week: “We just seized a tanker off the coast of Venezuela, a big tanker, a very big one, the biggest ever, actually, and other things are happening.”
The officials said the ship was allowed to proceed after the raid, which involved special operations forces.
Neither Iran nor China immediately responded to the report.
