President Donald Trump said Monday, November 9, that Task Force Iron Gate was “in full force,” while U.S. Central Command said the roughly 20-person unit was a new effort to work with federal agencies to target weapons, goods under sanctions and money moving through Iran’s land routes and the Caspian Sea.
CENTCOM said its commander ordered the task force to be formed on November 7. It said the unit would focus on advanced weapons and technology that can be used for both military and civilian purposes, as well as goods subject to sanctions and what Washington calls illegal sources of income. The unit is based in Tampa, Florida.
CENTCOM said it would work with other U.S. agencies. Its announcement did not describe specific border operations or report any goods or shipments stopped. Trump said the task force, together with the U.S. naval blockade, meant “very little” could enter or leave Iran.
Separately, CENTCOM claimed that the maritime blockade had stopped Iran from exporting more than $25 billion in crude oil. The military gave this figure, and its announcement did not independently verify it. The land-focused effort extends Washington’s pressure beyond Iranian ports.
It targets supply routes that include land borders and the Caspian Sea. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps dismissed the effort. It said the effort would not cause the economic collapse Washington seeks.