The United States military is taking its blockade of Iran beyond the sea. US Central Command said on Saturday it is setting up a new task force to choke off Tehran’s movement of advanced weapons and other sanctioned material across its land borders and through the Caspian Sea, extending a months-long naval blockade that has already squeezed Iranian oil exports.
The unit, to be called Task Force Iron Gate, will be based at Central Command’s headquarters in Tampa, Florida, and will coordinate with other US government agencies. Beyond the movement of weapons, it will also focus on halting the flow of dual-use technologies and stemming what Washington calls illegal revenue streams.
“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 a statement.
The move is a response to evidence that Tehran has been working around the sea blockade. A Reuters investigation found Iran has created a secret network of military agencies to import at least $2 billion in hardware, explosives and heavy-duty trucks since January 2025, evading both the naval blockade and Western sanctions. The material entered Iran by cargo ship across the Caspian Sea from Russia, by truck from Central Asia, and by freight planes from China, the investigation showed.
On the same day the task force was announced, an American military aircraft fired on and disabled a commercial vessel that tried to break the blockade. The St Kitts-flagged cargo vessel tried to depart regional waters after visiting an Iranian port, and a US plane fired precision munitions at its stern after US forces directed the crew to abandon the targeted spaces, Central Command said. The account of the incident comes from Central Command and has not been independently verified.
Central Command estimated that its naval blockade has prevented Iran from exporting more than $25 billion in crude oil. The pressure campaign continues alongside negotiations: President Donald Trump has threatened a new offensive against Iran, while Tehran has threatened broad retaliation against Gulf infrastructure, leaving countries across the region on edge.
Sources: Reuters — “Expanding on naval blockade, US military looks to restrict Iranian land commerce” (https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/expanding-naval-blockade-us-military-looks-restrict-iranian-land-commerce-2026-11-07/) and “US military says it disabled cargo vessel in Gulf of Oman” (https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/us-military-says-it-disabled-cargo-vessel-gulf-oman-2026-11-07/).
