What to know about the Iran war today:
- The U.S. military's Central Command announced Friday it is offering up to $20 million and possible relocation in exchange for information about Iran's nuclear program, its facilities, equipment or personnel.
- President Trump confirmed on Friday the U.S. carried out "minor strikes" on Iran, after local state media reported missiles striking Qeshm island in the Strait of Hormuz
- Central Command also announced the creation of Task Force Iron Gate, which is supposed to extend the success of the naval blockade to overland routes of trade. The group will be tasked with preventing military technology and illegal revenue streams from entering or exiting Iranian borders, including via the Caspian Sea, but it was unclear if any military force would be brought to bear.
U.S. forces disabled commercial vessel in Gulf of Oman, CENTCOM says
U.S. forces disabled a commercial vessel in the Gulf of Oman on Saturday after the ship's civilian crew ignored repeated warnings and attempted to violate the naval blockade against Iran multiple times, U.S. Central Command said.
A U.S. military aircraft fired precision munitions at the stern of St.Kitts-flagged M/V Huda, which disabled the ship after the crew was directed to abandon targeted spaces. The cargo vessel tried to depart regional waters after visiting an Iranian port, CENTCOM said.
"All mariners transiting near Iranian coastal areas or surrounding waters are advised to heed blockade warnings from U.S. forces," CENTCOM said.
Earlier Saturday, CENTCOM said "strict enforcement" of the U.S. blockade on Iranian ports in the Strait of Hormuz continues.
U.S. launches new task force to disrupt Iranian ground shipping routes
In what the U.S. military is calling an expansion of the naval blockade, U.S. Central Command announced a new task force Saturday aimed at disrupting the illegal shipment of prohibited items like military technology or illegal revenue streams over ground transportation routes.
"The establishment of Task Force Iron Gate reinforces the success of our ironclad blockade against Iran at sea," U.S. Central Command chief Adm. Brad Cooper said in a statement. "Strengthening CENTCOM's collaboration with U.S. interagency partners will further constrain Iran's ability to finance terrorism, rebuild weapons factories, and replenish their military."
The U.S. said the task force will be made up of about 20 civilian and military personnel, based in Florida, and will be tasked with the goal of "preventing the movement of advanced weapons systems, dual-use technologies, sanctioned materials, and illegal revenue streams across Iran's land borders and the Caspian Sea."
The announcement made no mention of how the task force would be carrying out its goal, including whether any military operations will be involved.
China, Iran's largest trade partner, has taken to conducting commerce over land, especially by train across central Asia due to the blockade on Iranian ports. The U.S. said the blockade has prevented some $25 billion in Iranian crude oil from being sold, much of it in Asia.
Iran's Revolutionary Guard lifts self-imposed missile-range limit
Iran's Revolutionary Guard says it has lifted a self-proclaimed limit of 1,200 miles on the range of its ballistic missiles, suggesting the country may seek to develop missiles capable of reaching more distant targets amid fears of renewed all-out war.
The comments by the spokesman of Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard came days after the country's supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khomeini, warned "any kind and level of threat" from the U.S. or Israel would face a response without geographic limits.
Asked at a Tehran press conference about the limit on missile ranges, Gen. Hossein Mohebbi said, "That restriction has been lifted for us."
He did not say whether Iran had missiles capable of exceeding the limit, saying only Iran would "demonstrate these capabilities in practice" rather than make statements.
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