WASHINGTON, D.C., December 13 (ANI): U.S. forces raided a cargo ship traveling from China to Iran last month, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal, in what has been described as the latest example of increasingly aggressive maritime tactics by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, Al Jazeera reported.
Unnamed officials told the newspaper that U.S. military personnel boarded the vessel several hundred miles from Sri Lanka. According to the report, it marked the first time in several years that U.S. forces have intercepted cargo traveling from China to Iran.
The operation took place in November, weeks before U.S. forces seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela earlier this week, citing sanctions violations. The report said it was another action Washington has not undertaken in years.
U.S. Indo-Pacific Command did not immediately confirm the report. However, an official told the newspaper that materials “potentially useful for Iran’s conventional weapons” were seized. The official added that the items were considered dual-use, meaning they could have both military and civilian applications.
Officials said the ship was allowed to continue its journey after the interdiction, which involved U.S. special operations forces.
Iran remains under heavy U.S. sanctions. Neither Iran nor China immediately responded to the report, although Beijing, a key trading partner of Tehran, has repeatedly called U.S. sanctions illegal, according to Al Jazeera.
Earlier in the day, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun condemned the seizure of the oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, which was brought to a port in Texas on Friday.
The action came amid a broader U.S. pressure campaign against Venezuela, which Caracas has alleged is aimed at toppling the government of President Nicolas Maduro.
Beijing “opposes unilateral illicit sanctions and long-arm jurisdiction that have no basis in international law or authorization by the UN Security Council, and the abuse of sanctions,” Guo said, as quoted by Al Jazeera.
White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Thursday that the Trump administration would not rule out future seizures of vessels near Venezuela.
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