US sets up task force to cut Iran's land supply routes
CENTCOM says Task Force Iron Gate will target weapons, dual-use goods and revenue moving across Iran's land borders and the Caspian Sea.
Tampa — The US military's Central Command has announced a new task force to block Iran's land-based supply routes, expanding its months-long naval blockade of Iranian ports in the Strait of Hormuz, Al Jazeera reported.
CENTCOM, which oversees US operations in the Middle East, said on Saturday that Task Force Iron Gate would prevent Iran "from using ground routes to transport advanced weapons and other materials". Commander Admiral Brad Cooper said it would reinforce "the success of our ironclad blockade against Iran at sea".
Based in Tampa, Florida, the task force will coordinate with other US agencies on stopping "the movement of advanced weapons systems, dual-use technologies, sanctioned materials, and illegal revenue streams across Iran's land borders and the Caspian Sea", CENTCOM said.
Michael Mulroy, a former US deputy assistant defence secretary for the Middle East, told Al Jazeera the task force will map where "weapons systems are coming in, how they could potentially be cut off", and how "Iran is transporting its energy". He said that if President Donald Trump orders an escalation, strikes would likely hit this "series of targets" — economic and infrastructure sites, unlike Operation Epic Fury, which focuses on military targets.
CENTCOM also said a US military aircraft fired precision munitions at the stern of the St. Kitts-flagged M/V Huda in the Gulf of Oman, disabling the vessel after its crew was directed to abandon targeted spaces. It said enforcement since July has redirected 147 commercial vessels that complied and disabled five merchant ships that refused.
On the Iranian side, the official IRNA news agency reported two explosions on Qeshm Island and "several explosions" in Jask, Sirik and Bandar Abbas on Saturday. Trump had confirmed strikes on Qeshm a day earlier, calling them "minor", and said Tehran still wants a deal as Qatari-mediated talks continue. Iran's Revolutionary Guard navy said two oil tankers struck mines near the strait with their navigation systems off, suffering severe damage.
The next signals to watch are the Qatari-mediated talks and whether the tanker and vessel tallies rise — the figures CENTCOM and Tehran publish will show whether the blockade is tightening or the diplomacy is gaining ground.
Sources
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