Trump announces the deployment of the Iron Gate Task Force to block Iranian arms shipments

The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) announced on the 7th that it has established a 20-member Task Force Iron Gate as an extension of the U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports to further block Iran’s land transportation of weapons and other prohibited materials. U.S. President Trump confirmed on the 8th that the force was "fully operational."

According to a report by Agence France-Presse, Admiral Brad Cooper, commander of U.S. Central Command, said in a statement issued on the 7th that the force will further restrict Iran’s ability to fund terrorism, rebuild weapons factories, and replenish military supplies.

Trump posted on the "Truth Social" on the 8th that "The Iron Gate Task Force is fully operational in Iran. Coupled with the largest naval blockade in history, almost nothing can enter or leave Iran now!"

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps stated that this US operation is "doomed to fail" and cannot lead to the collapse of Iran's economy. "The Americans have been unable to achieve their goal, which is to cause the collapse and disintegration of the Iranian economy through the application of extreme economic pressure," Revolutionary Guard spokesman Hossein Mohebi said.

Before the United States established the Iron Gate Task Force, it had implemented economic pressure measures on Iran. The United States announced on the 8th that it would launch an operation called "economic asphyxiation" against Iran, aiming to further strangle Iran's already severely damaged economy.

The US move was in response to Iran's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. The Strait of Hormuz is an important transportation channel for global energy supplies. Before Iran imposed the blockade, about one-fifth of the world's oil was transported through it.