US looks to restrict Iran’s land commerce

Building on a months-long naval blockade on Iran, the US military said on Saturday it is launching a task force to help crack down on Tehran’s movement of advanced weapons and other sanctioned material over its land borders and through the Caspian Sea.

Task Force Iron Gate, which was first reported by Reuters, will be based in Tampa, Florida, and will coordinate with other US government agencies. Beyond movement of weapons, it will also focus on halting the flow of dual-use technologies used by Iran and stemming what Washington calls illegal revenue streams.

A Reuters investigation found Iran has created a secret network of military agencies to import at least $2 billion in hardware, explosives and heavy-duty trucks since January 2025, evading both the US naval blockade and Western sanctions.

US Central Command said the task force will coordinate with other government agencies. A US military official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that was expected to include the Treasury, State and Justice Departments but also the intelligence community.

Mediators have intensified efforts in recent days to end the war between Iran and the United States. Qatar’s Prime Minister said the country’s mediation efforts between the US and Iran were continuing to prevent the situation in the region from spiraling out of control, Al Jazeera TV reported on Saturday.

The US administration remained willing to find a solution even after the midterm elections, signalling that Washington’s interest in reaching an agreement had not changed, Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani said.

Significant progress had been made and Al-Thani expressed confidence that a settlement could be reached. “We cannot wait to reach a perfect agreement; we hope to reach a good agreement,” he said.

Iran said on Saturday its military had grown “stronger” since the outset of its war with the United States. Washington also offered a $20 million reward for information about Tehran’s nuclear programme.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Instagram on Saturday that over the past 48 hours he held phone calls with ministers from 12 countries.

US President Donald Trump, meanwhile, called Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani on Friday to discuss efforts to end the war.

Iranian army spokesman Mohammad Akraminia said the Strait of Hormuz would remain closed until Tehran’s demands were met by Washington. He also said Iran’s forces “are on higher alert and are stronger than they were at the beginning of the war”.

“There is no pause in this regard.”

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan told US President Donald Trump by phone that Ankara would continue its peace efforts and that tensions between Iran and the United States should be resolved through diplomacy, Erdogan’s office said on Saturday.

Erdogan told Trump that Turkiye would also continue to contribute to efforts to end the war in Ukraine and that contacts with both Kyiv and Moscow should be intensified, according to a readout from his office.

Meanwhile, Iran executed a man on Saturday convicted of being involved in a deadly assault on a police station, the judiciary said.

Source: The News Pakistan