US to Block All Land Routes Into Iran; Tehran Dismisses Plan

The United States announced plans to create a task force to block all land routes into Iran, which it claims are used to transport weapons and illegal goods, according to AFP. Iran immediately responded, dismissing the initiative as doomed to fail. The task force, based in Florida with 20 civilian and military members, will work with government agencies to halt the transit of advanced weapons, dual-use technologies, sanctioned materials, and illegal revenue flows through Iran's land borders and the Caspian Sea. This complements existing U.S. maritime blockades on Iranian ports amid the conflict that began in February with Israeli-American attacks on the country. Iran's Revolutionary Guard spokesman Hossein Mohebi stated the project "will fail" and won't collapse Iran's economy, asserting the U.S. is "incapable" of blocking communication routes with neighbors. The U.S. claims its port blockades have already prevented over $25 billion in Iranian crude oil exports, following Washington's August pledge to "suffocate" Iran's economy in response to Tehran's disruption of the Strait of Hormuz.