CNBC's Eamon Javers joins 'Closing Bell Overtime' to talk news U.S. forces seized cargo in the Indian Ocean heading toward Iran.

Washington

U.S. officials have confirmed that American forces raided a ship in the Indian Ocean last month, which was en route from China to Iran. The operation was based on intelligence suggesting the ship was carrying parts intended for the Iranian weapons program. 

The raid took place several hundred miles off the coast of Sri Lanka, where U.S. operatives boarded the vessel, seized its cargo, and then allowed the ship to continue. This marks a rare instance of the U.S. intercepting a Chinese ship, amid ongoing efforts to reinforce maritime deterrence and as trade tensions between the U.S. and China have recently eased.

U.S. forces raided ship headed to Iran from China last month

We've got some breaking news out of Washington, Eamon Jabbers has that story for us. Hi, Eamon. Morgan, this is reporting from The Wall Street Journal, just popped a couple of moments ago. The Journal is reporting that according to U.S. officials talking to the Journal, the United States raided a ship in the Indian Ocean last month that was bound from China to Iran, interdicted that ship because the theory was from U.S. intelligence that that ship had parts on board that were intended for the Iranian weapons program. So that is another operation on the high seas, this one now a month ago, but of a Chinese ship destined toward Iran. The Wall Street Journal reporting that this was several hundred miles off the coast of Sri Lanka when U.S. operatives boarded the ship, confiscated the cargo, and then let the vessel proceed on its way. The U.S. had been tracking the shipment, The Wall Street Journal reports. So now we have the information about the ship out of Venezuela with the oil, and now this, a previous instance in a separate case in a separate ocean, but aggressive maritime tactics by the United States military. Back over to you. It certainly speaks to, Eamon, this notion of reestablishing, reinforcing, and expanding deterrence from a U.S. perspective here. I don't even know the last time that we have actually intercepted or seized cargo from a Chinese-specific ship. So how significant is that, given the tensions or maybe dying down or dialing back of tensions that we've been seeing in terms of trade talks between the two countries? Yeah, one question I'd like to know the answer to, Morgan, is did this happen before or after that Busan meeting between President Trump and Xi Jinping? And then also, you know, how much thought was put into that? It must have been an enormous amount to how much this would provoke the Chinese by going after a Chinese shipment here.

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