Iran’s IRGC dismisses new US plan to tighten economic pressure as ‘wordplay’

The US cannot achieve its goals of blockading Iran’s economy and shutting its trade routes because Tehran has made preparations and communicates closely with neighbors, a Revolutionary Guards spokesperson was quoted as saying on Sunday.

Hossein Mohebbi was reacting to the US military’s Task Force Iron Gate, launched to help crack down on Tehran’s movement of advanced weapons and other sanctioned material over its land borders and through the Caspian Sea.

“The Iron Gate plan is merely a wordplay, the Americans cannot achieve their objectives of imposing severe economic pressure to cause economic collapse in Iran through this approach,” Mohebbi told the semi-official Fars news agency.

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Task Force Iron Gate will be based in Tampa, Florida, and will coordinate with other US government agencies. Beyond the 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.

The establishment of the task force is the latest illustration of how the US is still searching for ways to increase pressure on Tehran, more than eight months after launching with Israel a war against the Islamic Republic.

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While US strikes have dealt devastating blows to Iran’s conventional military and the US naval blockade has severely restricted its crude exports through the Strait of Hormuz and the Arabian Sea, Iran still poses a formidable threat to the region, and its rulers have tightened their grip on the country.

Iran on Saturday claimed that its forces had grown stronger and more confident, despite the months of on-off war with the US and Israel, state news agency IRNA reported.

Tehran has proven resilient and gloated following US midterm election results that punished US President Donald Trump’s Republican Party, giving control of Congress to opposition Democrats. Vice President JD Vance blamed the Iran war for the electoral rout, and appeared to question whether the conflict was worth it.

Mediators have intensified efforts in recent days to ​end the war between Iran and the United States ⁠amid fears it could reignite.

Trump has been threatening to carry out a new offensive against Iran, putting countries in the Gulf on edge, since Tehran has threatened broad retaliation against Gulf infrastructure.

Meanwhile, US intelligence assessments in recent months have reportedly indicated that renewed strikes on Iran would not fundamentally change Tehran’s negotiating position or lead to the fall of Iran’s government.

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