U.S. Central Command announced on Saturday the formation of Task Force Iron Gate, the objective of which is to fully close Iran’s borders, on top of the existing maritime blockade. Working from Centcom’s Tampa, Florida headquarters, the new task force “will coordinate with other U.S. government agencies on preventing 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 says.
“Illegal revenue streams” could translate, in practice, into attempted sabotage of all of Iran’s economic activities with partners such as Russia, China, and other Asian countries, as well as the all-important integrated rail-sea route known as INSTC (International North-South Transport Corridor).
“The establishment of Task Force Iron Gate reinforces the success of our ironclad blockade against Iran at sea,” said Centcom chief Adm. Brad Cooper. “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.”
The announcement doesn’t explain how Centcom expects to close Iran’s borders, but the case of Iraq may be instructive. On Oct. 21, Iraqi authorities closed the Al Sheeb border crossing in Maysan province, sparking protests that have reportedly continued ever since. At the time, Iraqi authorities attributed the closure to technical and operational shortcomings, but Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein told Al Jazeera on Saturday that the U.S. had formally asked Iraq to close all but two border crossings with Iran.
Joe Kent, the former director of the National Counterterrorism Center who resigned last March in protest of the U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran, accused Centcom of trying to sabotage President Trump’s diplomacy, which is being led by Vice President JD Vance. “This is CENTCOM inviting Iran to escalate while the Vice President is attempting to negotiate with the Iranians. 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 on X. “This tactic was implemented over & over again in the War on Terror in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, etc. Many Americans died, needlessly.”
“The Iranians have made it clear,” Kent continued, “that they won’t accept negotiations while under threat of escalation. Iranian leadership has stated there will either be war or there will be peace, but they will not sit idly by and wait for the next attack & they won’t tolerate being slowly strangled by sanctions,” he said further. “Imposing more sanctions, & publicly broadcasting that we’re imposing more sanctions, is brash provocation.”
