CHINA – According to American officials speaking on condition of anonymity, last month the US raided a ship bound for Iran from China and seized its cargo.

The operation was carried out in the Indian Ocean, with the materials seized being claimed to be military-related.

One official said the cargo included components that could have been used for Iran’s conventional weapons, adding that the shipment was destroyed, according to a Friday report by the Wall Street Journal.

US forces boarded the vessel several hundred miles off Sri Lanka’s coast, and the ship was later permitted to continue its journey.

The cargo included dual-use items – materials with both civilian and military applications – that could be used in Iran’s missile program.

The report also cited a US official as saying American intelligence showed the shipment was destined for Iranian companies known to act as intermediaries in the country’s missile development activities.

A spokesman for the US Indo-Pacific Command, which oversees military operations in those regions, declined to comment, according to The New York Times.