A military drill conducted by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps off the southern coast of Iran on the 5th. EPA=Yonhap News

The U.S. Trump administration seized weapons components from a ship that was intercepted in the Indian Ocean last month while en route from China to Iran, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on the 12th (local time).

Amid the Trump administration's increasingly bold military operations in the Caribbean targeting the Venezuelan government, analyses suggest that maritime operations against adversarial nations have expanded to the Indian Ocean.

Sources familiar with the operation stated that U.S. special operations teams boarded a vessel in the middle of the sea hundreds of miles off the coast of Sri Lanka last month. The ship had departed from China and was headed for Iran. After seizing the cargo, the vessel was allowed to continue its journey.

The name of the ship and its owner have not been identified.

One source said that the cargo seized by the U.S. consisted of dual-use items that could also be used as conventional weapons components.

Another source revealed that the operation was carried out after intelligence indicated the cargo was destined for an Iranian company specializing in procuring missile parts for Iran.

The maritime operation against Iran appears to be largely a consequence of the recent reimposition of international sanctions on Iran.

The three major European powers (E3) – Britain, France, and Germany – initiated the "snapback" procedure, citing Iran's violation of the 2015 nuclear agreement, leading to the reimposition of UN sanctions on Iran in September.

Since then, both Iran and the U.S. have expressed willingness to engage in dialogue with the other party, but substantive nuclear negotiations have not resumed.

A scene from the exhibition showcasing aerospace achievements of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps held in Tehran, Iran, in November. EPA=Yonhap News

The U.S. has seized Iranian-owned weapons and oil on multiple occasions in the past.

In 2024, Iran-made ballistic and cruise missile components destined for the Houthi rebels in Yemen were seized near Somalia. In 2020 and 2023, shipments of Iranian crude oil were confiscated on the grounds that they would benefit the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), an Iranian paramilitary organization and a target of U.S. sanctions.

Regarding this incident, the WSJ stated that it was aimed at hindering Iran's military reconstruction following the U.S. bombing of Iranian nuclear facilities in June. The report added, "This is the first time in recent years that U.S. forces have intercepted cargo from China bound for Iran."

In the U.S., there have been ongoing calls for stricter surveillance of Chinese products that could be used for weapons development to prevent Iran's missile development.

Last month, Democratic Representatives Raja Krishnamoorthi and Joe Courtney sent a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and CIA Director John Ratcliffe, urging an investigation into Chinese chemicals exported to Iran that could be used as missile propellants.

In their letter, the two representatives noted, "Beijing appears to be increasingly emboldened to support Tehran's rearmament without consequence."