WASHINGTON (Realist English). U.S. forces last month boarded a cargo vessel travelling from China to Iran, marking a rare interception along that route and underscoring a more assertive maritime posture by the administration of President Donald Trump, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Citing unnamed officials, the newspaper reported that American military personnel boarded the ship several hundred miles from Sri Lanka in November. It was the first such interception of China–Iran cargo in several years, officials said. The operation came weeks before U.S. forces seized an oil tanker off Venezuela’s coast over alleged sanctions violations—another step Washington had not taken in years.
U.S. Indo-Pacific Command did not immediately confirm the report. One official told the Journal that the boarding resulted in the seizure of items “potentially useful for Iran’s conventional weapons,” while stressing the materials were dual-use, with both civilian and military applications. After the interdiction—carried out by special operations forces—the ship was allowed to continue its voyage.
Iran remains under extensive U.S. sanctions. Neither Tehran nor Beijing offered an immediate response to the report, though China—one of Iran’s key trading partners—has consistently denounced U.S. sanctions as unlawful.
Earlier on Friday, China’s foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun criticised the U.S. seizure of the Venezuelan oil tanker, which was brought to a Texas port, calling it part of an unlawful sanctions campaign. The move coincides with broader U.S. military pressure on Venezuela, which Caracas says is aimed at undermining President Nicolas Maduro.
“China opposes unilateral and illegal sanctions and long-arm jurisdiction that lack any basis in international law or authorisation by the UN Security Council,” Guo said.
White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Thursday that the administration would not rule out further vessel seizures near Venezuela.
