US launches task force to disrupt Iran’s land-based supply routes
The United States military's Central Command has established Task Force Iron Gate to block Iran's land-based supply routes, expanding its naval blockade in the Strait of Hormuz.
Based in Tampa, Florida, the task force will coordinate with other US 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 said.
Expanded Operations
CENTCOM separately announced it had disabled a commercial cargo vessel in the Gulf of Oman as part of its blockade. A US "military aircraft fired precision munitions at the stern of St. Kitts-flagged M/V Huda, disabling the ship after CENTCOM forces directed the crew to abandon targeted spaces".
"Enforcement actions since July have resulted in U.S. forces redirecting 147 commercial vessels that complied", and disabling "five merchant ships that refused to comply", it added.
Regional Escalation
On Saturday, Iran's official news agency IRNA reported the sound of two explosions on Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz, as well as "several explosions" in Jask, Sirik and Bandar Abbas.
Iran's Response
Trump confirmed new strikes on Qeshm Island but downplayed them as "minor". Meanwhile, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy reported that two oil tankers struck mines near the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday.
Iranian state television said the tankers had passed through an "unsafe" part of the strait with their navigation systems off. They "suffered severe damage and stopped after hitting sea mines".
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