US Seizes Chinese Military Shipment Heading to Iran

Donald Trump’s administration has taken an increasingly interventionist maritime strategy. The operation took place weeks before the US on Wednesday seized a sanctioned oil tanker near Venezuela which had been used to transport oil to Iran.

Iran is attempting to rebuild its shattered ballistic missile arsenal, having bombarded Israel with around 500 during their 12-day war in June. Roughly 1,000 more are estimated to have been destroyed in Israeli strikes.

The UN imposed an arms embargo on Iran, and a ban on uranium enrichment and activity related to ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear weapons.

The US seized Iranian oil shipments from several tankers in 2020 and 2023, claiming they were violating sanctions and that proceeds would be used to fund Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which the US and several other countries have named a designated terrorist organisation.

Last month, the US Treasury sanctioned dozens of entities around the world as part of its “maximum pressure” policy, claiming they had been used to procure supplies for Iran’s ballistic missile and drone production.

Footage of the moment US troops took control of the tanker shows helicopters hovering above the vast ship as soldiers rappel onto the deck and search for the crew.