US forms new task force to cut off Iran's land-based supply routes

The United States military has formed a new task force to block Iran's land-based supply routes. The country's Central Command (CENTCOM) announced this on Saturday.

The move extends the months-long naval blockade of Iranian ports in the Strait of Hormuz to land routes as well.

The new task force has been named "Task Force Iron Gate". Its job will be to prevent Iran from using ground routes to transport advanced weapons and other materials.

CENTCOM Commander Admiral Brad Cooper said the task force will reinforce "the success of our ironclad blockade against Iran at sea".

Based in Tampa, Florida, the task force will coordinate with other US government agencies. Its aim is to prevent the movement of advanced weapons systems, dual-use technologies, sanctioned materials and illegal revenue streams across Iran's land borders and the Caspian Sea.

Michael Mulroy, a former US deputy assistant defence secretary for the Middle East, told Al Jazeera the task force's role will be to find out where weapons systems are coming in, how they could be cut off, and how Iran is transporting its energy.

He added that if President Donald Trump orders an escalation to the war, it will likely be attacks on this "series of targets".

According to Mulroy, unlike Operation Epic Fury, which primarily focuses on military targets, these targets will be focused on economic and infrastructure targets. In his view, this is part of a comprehensive plan to cut the regime off from its ability to fight and its ability to fund itself.

On the same day, CENTCOM separately said it had disabled a commercial cargo vessel in the Gulf of Oman as part of its blockade of Iranian ports.

CENTCOM said in a statement that a US military aircraft fired precision munitions at the stern of the St. Kitts-flagged M/V Huda, disabling the ship after CENTCOM forces directed the crew to abandon targeted spaces.

CENTCOM said enforcement actions since July have resulted in US forces redirecting 147 commercial vessels that complied, and disabling five merchant ships that refused to comply.

On Saturday, Iran's official news agency IRNA reported the sound of two explosions on Qeshm Island, located in the Strait of Hormuz. The agency also reported the sound of "several explosions" in the cities of Jask, Sirik and Bandar Abbas.

Trump confirmed new strikes on Qeshm Island a day earlier, but downplayed them as "minor". He added that Tehran still wants a deal as Qatari-mediated talks continue.

Meanwhile, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy reported that two oil tankers struck mines near the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday. Iranian state television, citing the navy, 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".