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Policy

US Sets Up Task Force Iron Gate to Choke Iran's Land and Caspian Trade Routes

Central Command says the team will target weapons, dual-use technology, sanctioned goods and illicit revenue, extending pressure from a naval blockade it credits with stopping $25 billion of oil exports.

By Nakoda News Desk

·1 min read

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US Central Command's new Task Force Iron Gate will target Iranian trade across land borders and the Caspian Sea.
US Central Command's new Task Force Iron Gate will target Iranian trade across land borders and the Caspian Sea.Photo: Arab News

US Central Command said on Saturday that it is creating Task Force Iron Gate to stop Iran moving advanced weapons and other sanctioned material across its land borders and the Caspian Sea, widening Washington's economic pressure beyond the naval blockade it imposed in April.

The move matters because the blockade has closed Iran's sea routes, leaving overland corridors and the Caspian as the remaining channels for trade the US wants to stop. According to CENTCOM's statement, the new team will coordinate with other US government agencies to block the movement of advanced weapons systems, dual-use technologies, sanctioned materials and illegal revenue streams.

The task force will have an internal staff of about 20 civilian and military personnel based in Tampa, Florida, Khaleej Times reported.

"Strengthening CENTCOM's collaboration with US interagency partners will further constrain Iran's ability to finance terrorism, rebuild weapons factories, and replenish their military," Admiral Brad Cooper, the commander of Central Command, said in the statement.

CENTCOM estimates that the naval blockade has prevented Iran from exporting more than $25 billion of crude oil. The blockade began on April 13, was lifted briefly after a June ceasefire and was reimposed on July 15 after renewed Iranian attacks on tankers. Lifting it is among the conditions Iran has set for ending the war with the US that began on February 28.

The announcement came on the same day that Qatar, which is mediating between Washington and Tehran, said the talks had made significant progress. "We have accomplished a great deal and I believe we can reach a settlement," Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said in a statement.

CENTCOM did not say which border crossings or trading partners the task force would focus on first, or when it would begin operating.

Sources

  • Arab News · Expanding on naval blockade, US military looks to restrict Iranian land commerce
  • khaleejtimes-english · US to set up task force to prevent Iran from ground transit of weapons, other materials

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