The U.S. military created a task force to disrupt alleged routes for weapons and restricted goods linked to Iran by land and across the Caspian Sea, while U.S. forces also disabled a cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman.
The team, called Task Force Iron Gate, will work with other U.S. agencies to target the movement of advanced weapons, technologies with both military and civilian uses, sanctioned materials, and what Washington calls illegal income. U.S. Central Command said the team has about 20 civilian and military members, will be based in Tampa, Florida, and was directed by CENTCOM commander Adm. Brad Cooper on Nov. 7. The initiative expands Washington’s pressure beyond its naval blockade of Iranian ports, but the task force announcement describes coordination and enforcement goals and does not give details of specific operations on land.
Separately, CENTCOM said a U.S. military aircraft fired weapons designed to hit a specific target at the stern, or rear, of the St. Kitts-flagged M/V Huda on Nov. 7, disabling it in the Gulf of Oman. The command said the ship had visited an Iranian port and ignored repeated warnings as it tried to leave regional waters, though this was the U.S. military’s account of what happened. The moves show Washington is trying to restrict routes it says could be used to move materials into or out of Iran, while extending enforcement beyond the sea blockade.