WASHINGTON: A US special operations team in the Indian Ocean attacked a Chinese ship bound for Iran last month and seized military items, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing US officials.
The cargo consisted of components potentially useful for Iranian conventional weapons, an official said, adding that the cargo had been destroyed.
US forces boarded the ship several hundred kilometers off the coast of Sri Lanka, according to the newspaper, which added that the ship was then allowed to continue.
The operation took place in November, weeks before U.S. forces seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, citing sanctions violations.
Trump, who pressured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to resign, announced earlier this week: “We just seized an oil tanker on the coast of Venezuela, a big tanker, a very big one, the biggest ever, in fact, and other things are happening.” »
Officials said the ship was allowed to continue on its way after the raid, which involved special operations forces.
Neither Iran nor China immediately responded to this information.
