US launches task force to disrupt land transit routes into Iran

The United States has announced plans to establish a 20-member task force aimed at disrupting land routes into Iran, primarily focused on shipping weapons and illicit materials. This move expands on the current US naval blockade of Iranian ports, which was initiated during the two nations' eight-month conflict and has also targeted the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial trade route that has restricted global energy supplies.

US Central Command chief, Brad Cooper, stated that the task force's efforts would "further constrain Iran's ability to finance terrorism, rebuild weapons factories, and replenish their military." The team, composed of both civilian and military personnel based in Florida, will collaborate with US government agencies to prevent the movement of advanced weapons systems, dual-use technologies, sanctioned materials, and illegal revenue streams across Iran's land borders and the Caspian Sea.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps dismissed the US initiative, asserting that it would "fail" and would not lead to an economic collapse in the Islamic republic. According to Hossein Mohebi, a spokesman for the Guard, the United States will be unable to impose economic pressure successfully, and will be powerless to block communication channels between Iran and neighboring countries.

Centcom noted that the naval blockade on Iranian ports has already prevented the country from exporting more than US$25 billion (RM100 million) in crude oil. In August, the US introduced its "economic asphyxiation" campaign against Iran, aimed at strangling its already weakened economy in response to Tehran's blockade of the Hormuz Strait, where Iranian forces have regularly obstructed vessels attempting to cross without authorization.