US Launches Iron Gate Task Force to Target Iran Supply Lines

United States Central Command launched Iron Gate Task Force to choke land routes and Caspian Sea corridors used by Iran to import military hardware and electronics, according to الحرة.

The 20-person military and civilian unit operates from Tampa, Florida, under Admiral Brad Cooper. It complements existing naval blockades by tracking restricted dual-use technology, advanced weapons, and illicit revenue flows crossing Iranian land borders and the Caspian Sea, الحرة reported.

Since January 2025, a secret network of Iranian military entities has used Caspian maritime routes, land paths, and Chinese cargo flights to import heavy trucks, explosives, and equipment valued at least two billion dollars, according to a Reuters investigation cited by الحرة.

Retired Jordanian brigadier general Ayman Al-Rousan told الحرة that Washington intends to raise the financial and logistical costs of Tehran’s supply chain.

Russia Uses Caspian Sea and Land Routes for Transport

The Caspian Sea serves as a direct maritime passage between Iran and Russia, bypassing southern Gulf waters patrolled by U.S. forces. Russia transported drone components, ammunition, and explosives across the Caspian via more than 24 Russian ships arriving at Amirabad Port in Mazandaran province in August 2026, according to الحرة.

Five littoral states—Iran, Russia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Turkmenistan—share the Caspian Sea, while land routes through Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Turkey, Iraq, and Pakistan provide alternative transport channels, الحرة reported. The Caspian Sea transformed into a channel for military cooperation between Tehran and Moscow, particularly since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

The Volga-Don canal links the Caspian Sea to the wider Russian river network, enabling ships to travel between the Caspian and other Russian waterways, including routes leading to the Sea of Azov.

The 2018 Convention on the Legal Status of the Caspian Sea prohibits the presence of armed forces from outside the five littoral states. This legal framework limits direct U.S. naval interdiction inside the enclosed sea compared to the Persian Gulf.

Iran Discusses Countermeasures Against Iron Gate Task Force

Kazem Gharib Abadi, Iranian deputy foreign minister for legal and international affairs, met with the Russian ambassador in Tehran to discuss countermeasures against Iron Gate Task Force.

Trump added that 38 bridges in Iran are on U.S. targeting lists, claiming American forces could destroy them within an hour if necessary.

Araghchi said that Tehran maintains its preparedness for military confrontation if the White House chooses armed conflict. And he added: “إذا اختارت أميركا الحرب فمقاتلونا متأهبون لها في المعارك”, pointing out that “الناخبين الأميركيين اتخذوا قرارهم وحان الوقت للبيت الأبيض كي يتخذ قراره أيضا”.

Iranian Newspapers Discuss Iron Gate Plan and Domestic Issues

Iranian newspapers highlighted the repercussions of the U.S. Iron Gate plan, raising defense readiness, deterrence options, control over the Strait of Hormuz, and regional mediations, while criticizing government shortcomings in handling the rain crisis and economic corruption.

Mohammad Javad Larijani, head of the Institute for Research in Fundamental Sciences, stressed in a statement to the principalist “عصر إيرانيان” newspaper the importance of achieving absolute deterrence by expanding the scope of missile responses and temporarily suspending parliament’s nuclear commitments, emphasizing the necessity of retaining control of the Strait of Hormuz as the most important lever of regional pressure and negotiation.