Campaign Against Iran’s Missile Program Begins With U.S. Seizure Of Shipment From China

United States forces boarded a ship in the Indian Ocean last month and seized military-related cargo headed to Iran from China, The Wall Street Journal reported on December 12, citing U.S. officials.

The ship was several hundred miles off the coast of Sri Lanka when it was boarded by U.S. forces, who seized the cargo and allowed the vessel to proceed on its journey. The U.S. had been tracking the shipment, officials and another person familiar with the operation told WSJ.

One of the officials told the journal that the operation, which took place in the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command’s area of responsibility included special operations forces as well as conventional forces.

The cargo consisted of dual-use items, with both civilian and military applications, which Iran could have used to build conventional weapons, according to the official, who noted that the cargo was destroyed.

Another official and the person familiar with the seizure said that the U.S. had gathered intelligence suggesting the cargo was going to Iranian companies that specialize in procuring components for its missile program.

The seizure was the first time in recent years that the U.S. military is known to have intercepted cargo with Chinese origins on its way to Iran. It appears to be a part of wider effort to disrupt the Islamic Republic’s clandestine military procurement, especially those related to its missile program.

Since the 12-day June war, Israel and the U.S. have largely shifted focus from the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program, to its offensive capabilities, namely the missile program.

In fact, the story of the seizure broke out following a series of Hebrew and Western media reports on Iran’s efforts to expand its missile program, in what appears to be a coordinated campaign.

It’s worth noting that last month Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps seized a tanker in the strategic Strait of Hormuz. The Talara tanker, sailing under the flag of the Marshall Islands, was travelling from the United Arab Emirates to Singapore. The guards said at the time that “the tanker was in violation for carrying unauthorized cargo”. It was released within a few days.

And just a few hours after the release of the WSJ report it became known that another tanker was seized by Iranian authorities in the Gulf of Oman.

“An oil tanker carrying six million liters of contraband diesel fuel has been boarded off the coast of the Sea of Oman,” the Fars news agency said, quoting an official from the southern province of Hormozgan. “The vessel had disabled all its navigation systems.”

It is unclear if these seizures were related to the cargo seized by the U.S. last month, or the more recent seizure of a tanker off the coast of Venezuela. The U.S. said that the tanker was transporting oil from Venezuela and Iran in violation of sanctions.

Recent developments suggest that the covert naval war between Iran and both the U.S. and Israel is now back in full swing.

There is a clear intention against Iran, and the Islamic Republic’s missile program could become the pretext for the next war.

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