US Disables a Cargo Ship in the Gulf of Oman and Opens Task Force Iron Gate a Day After Trump Confirms Strikes on Iran

The command said that since July its enforcement has seen 147 commercial vessels redirected after complying and five merchant ships disabled after refusing.

What is Task Force Iron Gate?

Admiral Brad Cooper announced it earlier on Saturday. Based in Tampa, Florida, it is a small staff of about 20 civilian and military personnel, and its stated aim is to control the flow of advanced weapons systems, dual-use technologies, sanctioned materials and illicit revenue across Iran's land borders and the Caspian Sea. CENTCOM did not say whether force would be used on land.

What did Trump say about the strikes on Iran?

Speaking to reporters in West Palm Beach on Friday, Trump said the US had carried out "minor strikes". CNBC reported that he did not explicitly link them to the reports from Qeshm Island, where Iran's Tasnim agency said two missiles had struck, with no official word on damage. Al Jazeera quoted him saying US forces destroyed a small anti-aircraft device "in about 15 minutes, maybe five". Iran's army said its air defences shot down an American MQ-9 drone over the island, and CENTCOM called the situation "relatively calm".

The diplomacy has not stopped. Trump said the US has "made a lot of progress" in talks, and Qatar rejected reports that mediation had failed. Ali Bagheri Kani told reporters Tehran wants practical measures from Washington, not paper commitments, before new talks, CNBC said. Al Jazeera added that unnamed Pentagon officials told the New York Times thousands of US forces are ready to resume major combat operations on the president's order. The next move belongs to Trump, who said on Thursday that the US may have to "destroy" the rest of Iran.