Maritime Interception Operations (MIO) is a coalition effort that enforces United Nations Security Council Resolutions (UNSCR) imposed against Iraq. Unabated since August 1990, MIO, initiated in the wake of Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, continues to check merchant vessel traffic in the Arabian Gulf.
The United Nations prohibits cargo originating from Iraq and any imports not accompanied by a U.N. authorization letter. Although, under the food for oil agreement, Iraq can sell oil and import approved goods into Iraq.
Naval interdiction took place in the Persian Gulf, during Operation Southern Watch. They took place between the end of Operation Desert Storm in 1991 and the beginning of the Iraq War in 2003. These operations were conducted to ensure Saddam Hussein was not smuggling his oil out of Iraq, in violation of United Nations sanctions against Iraq. The operations involved the stopping and boarding of any and all ships transiting the Persian Gulf, and the Strait of Hormuz, to search for oil, weapons, and certain fugitives from justice. The first submarine to take part in these operations was the USS Asheville (SSN-758), in March and April 2000.
