TAMPA, Fla. — U.S. Central Command’s commander, Adm. Brad Cooper, ordered the creation of Task Force Iron Gate on Saturday, Nov. 7, to help stop Iran from moving weapons and sanctioned goods over land and across the Caspian Sea, CENTCOM said in a release.
Related: U.S. Offers Up to $20 Million for Tips on Iran’s Nuclear Program as Trump Weighs New Strikes.
What the task force is
Iron Gate is an internal staff of about 20 civilian and military personnel based at CENTCOM in Tampa, the command said. It will coordinate with other U.S. government agencies to stop 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 described the team as support for ongoing U.S. government efforts. The release did not name the partner agencies, the countries or crossings in focus, or any shipment the team has tracked so far.
Why land routes now
Cooper tied the move to the U.S. naval blockade of Iran. “The establishment of Task Force Iron Gate reinforces the success of our ironclad blockade against Iran at sea,” he said in the release.
CENTCOM said the blockade has kept Iran from exporting more than $25 billion in crude oil in recent months and that enforcement continues against all ships entering or leaving Iranian ports. That figure is the command’s own and has not been independently verified.
Cooper said closer work with other agencies will further limit Iran’s ability to finance terrorism, rebuild weapons factories and replenish its military, according to the release.
What to watch
With sea lanes under blockade, the release points to the land borders and the Caspian as the routes CENTCOM now wants covered. Because Iron Gate is a staff cell rather than a deployed force, its work is likely to surface through other agencies, such as sanctions or interdictions that cite overland or Caspian shipments. CENTCOM has recently been more public about the war, including launching a podcast with Cooper. More coverage is in World News.
Sources
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