Trump touts new 'Iron Gate' blockade on Iran: Very little gets in or out

US President Donald Trump on Sunday praised a newly established American military task force designed to disrupt Iran's weapons supply networks, declaring that Washington's maritime blockade was severely restricting the movement of goods into and out of the Islamic Republic. “Task Force Iron Gate is in full force and effect in the Islamic Republic of Iran," Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Coupled with history’s greatest Naval Blockade, very little gets into, or out of, Iran!" he added.

US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced the establishment of Task Force Iron Gate on Saturday. The approximately 20-member unit will operate from Tampa, Florida, focusing on disrupting the transportation of weapons, sanctioned materials and illicit revenue through Iran's land borders and across the Caspian Sea. In a separate interview with CNN on Sunday, Trump suggested that another major military confrontation with Iran could be avoided if Tehran agreed to a sufficiently strong nuclear deal and reopened the Strait of Hormuz.

“It depends on whether or not they sign a very strong agreement," Trump said. Although he expressed confidence that further military action would probably not be required, the President emphasized that American forces remained prepared to resume strikes. “The answer is highly unlikely it’s going to be necessary," Trump said. “They’re a failing nation. It just came out, you saw this year, 301% inflation. Highly unlikely it will be necessary.

I would if necessary, but we hit them really hard. I hit them so hard. You don’t know how hard I hit them." Trump pointed to the economic and military pressure already exerted on Tehran as evidence that the United States held a decisive advantage. “They’re withering away financially. We’ve hit them militarily. We could finish them off," he warned. “We’re ready for it. I’ve got three aircraft carriers here. The other one just arrived. We have three.

They’re fully locked and loaded," Trump continued. The President also disclosed that American forces had identified dozens of Iranian bridges that could be targeted in a renewed military operation. “We have 38 bridges in our sight that we can knock down in literally one hour," Trump said. “They’ll all be down." However, he indicated that he would prefer to avoid destroying infrastructure that would require years to reconstruct. “I don’t want to do that because, essentially, it’ll take 10 years to rebuild them," he added.

“I don’t like ripping down bridges. And the hardest thing to build is a bridge. It takes years, and I’m a good builder." Trump's remarks coincided with reports of explosions on Iran's Qeshm Island in the Persian Gulf. The Tasnim news agency, which is affiliated with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), attributed the explosions to an American attack, reporting that a projectile launched by US forces had struck the island. According to Tasnim , Qeshm was the only location where an impact had been reported at that stage.

Earlier, Iran's official IRNA news agency reported that four explosions had been heard on the island and that several locations appeared to have been hit. The reported strike may be connected to a series of limited American military operations against Iran conducted in recent weeks. Those operations had not been publicly acknowledged until US officials confirmed their existence to The Wall Street Journal last week.