'Iron Gate plan is merely wordplay': Iran mocks US military initiative to disrupt supply routes

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has dismissed a new US military initiative to restrict the movement of goods through Iran's land borders and the Caspian Sea as “merely wordplay”, as tensions over shipping routes and Washington's blockade continue. “The Iron Gate plan is merely wordplay. The Americans cannot achieve their objectives of imposing severe economic pressure to cause economic collapse in Iran through this approach,” IRGC spokesman Hossein Mohebbi told the semi-official Fars news agency on Sunday, according to Reuters. Mohebbi said Washington had previously predicted that Iran would suffer economic collapse within two weeks, but that this had not happened. Tehran had prepared for economic pressure and maintained close relations with neighbouring countries, he said. The response came after US Central Command (Centcom) announced the establishment of Task Force Iron Gate on Saturday. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters The unit will be based in Florida and will coordinate with other US government agencies to control the movement of advanced weapons, dual-use technology, sanctioned materials and "illegal revenue streams" through Iran's land routes and the Caspian Sea. Centcom said the task force was established on the orders of its commander, Admiral Brad Cooper. 'Is this a joke?': Centcom podcast mocked as Iran war drags on Read More » In a statement, Cooper said the initiative would build on the US naval blockade of Iranian ports. “Strengthening CENTCOM's collaboration with U.S. interagency partners will further constrain Iran's ability to finance terrorism, rebuild weapons factories, and replenish their military,” he said. Centcom said the blockade had prevented Iran from exporting more than $25 billion in crude oil in recent months. Iran shares land borders with Iraq, Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Turkmenistan. It also has a coastline along the Caspian Sea, which provides a route for trade with countries including Russia. 'Undermining diplomacy' Joe Kent, the former director of the US National Counterterrorism Center who resigned over the US-Israeli war on Iran, accused Centcom of undermining diplomatic efforts by announcing the new task force. Kent said the initiative was a “brash provocation”, adding that it risked escalating the conflict while Vice President JD Vance was attempting to negotiate with Tehran. Trump acknowledges war's impact on midterm election losses Read More » “This is CENTCOM inviting Iran to escalate while the Vice President is attempting to negotiate with the Iranians,” Kent wrote on X. He accused the military of pursuing what he called “policy by CONOP”, arguing that military commanders could undermine the White House without directly disobeying the president. “This is, as CENTCOM calls it, ‘policy by CONOP’, when the military finds a way to subvert the White House without blatantly disobeying the President, by taking actions that will ensure a war escalates or perpetuates,” he wrote. Kent warned that enforcing further restrictions could put US troops at risk and trigger renewed fighting. “Enforcing the blockade keeps our troops in harm's way and risks a shoot-down that would inevitably launch us back into kinetic war,” he said. He also called on Trump to appoint a new national security team, arguing that it should be made up of officials capable of ending the conflict rather than prolonging it. Hormuz battles Meanwhile, the IRGC Navy said two oil tankers caught fire after striking naval mines in and near the Strait of Hormuz late on Saturday. The force said the vessels had switched off their navigation and positioning systems and attempted to use unauthorised routes. It said one tanker was hit east of the strait and the other inside it. US ambassador to Israel says critics of Iran war are blinded by Satan Read More » The claims were carried by Iranian media, but the circumstances of the reported incidents, the identities of the vessels and the cause of the fires could not be independently verified. The reports came after Centcom said on Saturday that a US aircraft had disabled a cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman after it repeatedly attempted to breach the US naval blockade of Iran. The US military identified the vessel as the St Kitts-flagged Huda and said it had visited an Iranian port. Meanwhile, the UAE National Guard said on Sunday that its Coast Guard had rescued 22 people after a fire broke out aboard a cargo ship in the Sea of Oman. The rescued crew members were Arab nationals and received first aid before being handed over to the relevant authorities, the National Guard said, adding that all 22 were in stable condition.