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U.S. Forces Raid Ship, Seize Cargo Headed to Iran from China
(Wall Street Journal) Benoit Faucon - A U.S. special operations team boarded a ship in the Indian Ocean last month and seized military-related articles headed to Iran from China, U.S. officials said, in an interdiction operation aimed at blocking Tehran from rebuilding its military arsenal. The cargo consisted of components potentially useful for Iran's conventional weapons, one official said, adding that the shipment was destroyed. The U.S. had gathered intelligence suggesting the cargo was going to Iranian companies that specialize in procuring components for its missile program, a second official said. "By remaining a permissive jurisdiction for the export of illicit technologies, China is an enabler for Iran's ballistic missile program," said Behnam Ben Taleblu, an Iran director at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. Companies in China typically provide technologies that improve the precision of Iran's missiles, he said.