Bloomberg shipping data shows Iran loaded no crude oil in September or October, IBTimes reports. The figures bear on US Central Command's claim that its naval blockade has "prevented Iran from exporting more than $25 billion in crude oil".
The loadings data is consistent with Iranian crude exports having stopped over those two months. It does not confirm CENTCOM's $25bn total, which has not been independently checked.
IBTimes also cites a Reuters report from late October on a covert network that has imported $2bn of "hardware, explosives and heavy-duty trucks" since January 2025. The report says the network used the Caspian, Central Asian trucks and Chinese freight. Task Force Iron Gate, set up on Saturday, is meant to disrupt Iran's land and Caspian supply routes.
CENTCOM says the task force is an internal staff of about 20 civilian and military personnel in Tampa, Florida, directed by its commander, Admiral Brad Cooper.
According to IBTimes, Tehran has repeatedly listed removal of the blockade as a key precondition for ending hostilities and reopening the Strait of Hormuz.