A United States Special Operations team boarded a cargo vessel in the Indian Ocean, several hundred miles off the coast of Sri Lanka, and seized military-related articles being transported from China to Iran, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) has reported.
The incident, which occurred last month, was described as a rare maritime interdiction aimed at preventing Iran from rebuilding its military arsenal. According to the WSJ, the operation was carried out by troops attached to the US Indo-Pacific Command, who confiscated the cargo before allowing the vessel to continue its journey. US intelligence authorities had reportedly been tracking the shipment for several months.
The previously undisclosed raid formed part of a broader Pentagon effort to disrupt Iran’s military procurement activities, particularly its attempts to strengthen missile facilities, following heavy damage inflicted on Tehran’s nuclear infrastructure by the US and Israel in June.
Separately, on Wednesday, the United States seized a sanctioned oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela that had allegedly been used to transport oil from Venezuela to Iran, according to US defence authorities. The WSJ noted that the operation highlighted the Trump administration’s use of aggressive maritime tactics against its adversaries—measures that the US has rarely employed in recent years.
Attempts by the US daily to obtain comments from Iran and China went unanswered. In Sri Lanka, both the Defence Ministry and the Navy declined to comment when contacted, stating that additional time was needed to verify the facts.
Meanwhile, agency reports said Iran seized an oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman early yesterday, with 18 crew members from India, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh on board.
“An oil tanker carrying six million litres of contraband diesel fuel has been boarded off the coast of the Sea of Oman,” Iran-based Fars news agency reported, quoting an official from the southern province of Hormozgan. The official added that the vessel had disabled all its navigation systems.
Iranian forces frequently announce the interception of ships they claim are illegally transporting fuel in the Gulf region.
Iran had seized another oil tanker in Gulf waters last month “for carrying an unauthorised cargo,” dismissing suggestions that the action was taken in retaliation against another country.
