U.S. Launches ‘Iron Gate’ Task Force to Choke Off Iran’s Overland Smuggling Routes
The U.S. military launched a new task force Saturday aimed at cutting off Iran’s land and Caspian Sea routes for weapons and sanctioned goods, extending months of naval pressure onto Iran’s borders.
U.S. Central Command chief Adm. Brad Cooper directed the formation of Task Force Iron Gate, a staff of about 20 civilian and military personnel based in Tampa, Florida, CENTCOM said in a release.
The team will work with other federal agencies to stop the movement of advanced weapons systems, dual-use technologies, sanctioned materials and “illegal revenue streams” across Iran’s land borders and the Caspian Sea, according to CENTCOM.
“The establishment of Task Force Iron Gate reinforces the success of our ironclad blockade against Iran at sea,” Cooper said in the statement.
“Strengthening CENTCOM’s collaboration with U.S. interagency partners will further constrain Iran’s ability to finance terrorism, rebuild weapons factories, and replenish their military,” he added.
CENTCOM said the naval blockade has kept Iran from exporting more than $25 billion in crude oil in recent months. Iran International noted that the figure could not be independently verified.
The new team is meant to expand pressure from the sea onto Iran’s overland routes, the Washington Post reported, more than eight months after the U.S. and Israel launched the war.
Iraq Asked to Close Crossings
The move comes as Washington leans on Baghdad. Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein confirmed the U.S. formally asked Iraq to close all but two of its border crossings with Iran, Al Jazeera reported.
Hussein said Iraq welcomes friendship with Tehran but rejects interference in its internal affairs. He also said Iraq lost about $60 billion when oil exports through the Strait of Hormuz were suspended, according to Al Jazeera.
Those shipments have since resumed after understandings with both Washington and Tehran, Hussein said. Iraq is also investigating attacks launched from its territory against Gulf states.
Saudi Arabia has accused Iran-aligned groups in Iraq of attacking its oil infrastructure, and Baghdad confirmed in September that drone strikes on a Saudi pipeline came from Iraqi soil, Al Jazeera reported.
Iran has kept up pressure despite heavy losses. Tehran gloated after the U.S. midterms handed Democrats control of Congress, and Vice President JD Vance blamed the war for the GOP rout, CNBC reported.
For now, CENTCOM said, strict enforcement at sea continues against all ships entering or leaving Iranian ports. Iron Gate adds a second front aimed at the trucks, rail lines and Caspian cargo that the blockade cannot reach.
The task force is small, but its mission covers both weapons and the money behind them, UPI reported, the same pipeline Cooper says funds Tehran’s rebuilding.
A land squeeze also raises the stakes for Iraq, which shares a long border and deep trade ties with Iran and must balance Washington’s demands against Tehran-aligned factions at home.
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