U.S. military seeks to disrupt Iran’s land routes, expanding on naval blockade

Adm. Brad Cooper, head of U.S. Central Command, announced the Iron Gate task force, which will seek to restrict Iran’s ability to transport weapons and prohibited materials.

By Maegan Vazquez

The U.S. military announced a new task force on Saturday aimed at restricting Iran’s ability to use overland routes to transport weapons and prohibited materials across the country’s land borders and the Caspian Sea.

U.S. Central Command, which oversees military operations in the Middle East, said in a statement that the task force, called Iron Gate, “will coordinate with other U.S. government agencies to prevent the movement of advanced weapons systems, dual-use technologies, sanctioned materials, and illegal revenue streams” across Iran.

The task force’s target areas — Iran’s land borders and the Caspian Sea — build upon targets already in place as part of the July U.S. naval blockade of all Iranian ports on the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. Centcom said the naval blockade has already prevented Iran from exporting more than $25 billion in crude oil.

The Iron Gate task force, made up of about 20 personnel, is based in Tampa, where Centcom’s main headquarters is located.

“The establishment of Task Force Iron Gate reinforces the success of our ironclad blockade against Iran at sea,” Adm. Brad Cooper, the head of Centcom, 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.”

By Maegan Vazquez

Maegan Vazquez is a politics breaking news reporter. She joined The Washington Post in 2023.follow on X@maeganvaz