US boards ship, seizes cargo bound for Iran from China

A US special operations team last month raided a ship traveling from China to Iran in the Indian Ocean and seized military-related items, according to US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity.

One official said the cargo included components that could have been used for Iran's conventional weapons, adding that the shipment was destroyed, according to a Friday report by the Wall Street Journal.

US forces boarded the vessel several hundred miles off Sri Lanka's coast, and the ship was later permitted to continue its journey.

The cargo included dual-use items—materials with both civilian and military applications—that could be used in Iran's missile program.

The report also cited a US official as saying American intelligence showed the shipment was destined for Iranian companies known to act as intermediaries in the country's missile development activities.

A spokesman for the US Indo-Pacific Command, which oversees military operations in those regions, declined to comment, according to The New York Times.