US forces seized a Chinese cargo headed to Iran as part of an operation to disrupt the rearming of Iranian regime forces, The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.
The ship was boarded on the Indian Ocean a month ago, and several pieces of military equipment were seized, officials revealed to the US newspaper.
The previously undisclosed operation occured near the coast of Sri Lanka, with US operatives tracking the weapons shipment and intercepting it before letting the vessel continue on its way.
This marks the first time in years that the US military intercepted a Chinese-origin vessel en route to Iran.
The name of the ship and its owner were not identified in the report.
China-Iran relations
On October 29, CNN reported that Iran was rebuilding its missile capabilities with aid from China, despite the guidance of United Nations sanctions.
European intelligence sources told CNN that Iran received shipments containing over 2,000 tons of sodium perchlorate, which can be used for both civilian purposes and also as a key ingredient in the production of ammonium perchlorate.
Ammonium perchlorate is an oxidizer used in a solid fuel propellant to build Iranian ballistic missiles.
In late September, the United Nations reimposed “snapback” sanctions on Iran, aiming to halt and prevent any Iranian operations related to creating weapons with nuclear capabilities.