Russia's Foreign Ministry described Washington's plan to form a task force to monitor and block Iran's trade and transport routes in the Caspian region as "a clear threat" to the rights and interests of the littoral states, adding that security in the Caspian Sea is an internal matter that concerns only the five states bordering it. The ministry said it considers "this latest escalatory and provocative step a blatant violation of the norms of international law" and declared full support for Iran's position that continued economic pressure will not succeed in collapsing its economy.
The reaction followed United States Central Command's announcement on 7 November of the creation of the "Iron Gate" task force, a unit whose stated aim is to prevent the transfer of advanced weapons and dual-use items to Iran via land borders and the Caspian Sea. CENTCOM also stressed in a statement posted on X on Wednesday that US forces are working around the clock to keep the Strait of Hormuz open to commercial shipping, to enforce rigorously an "Iron Maritime Blockade" against Iran, and to work with US partner institutions to prevent the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps from using land routes and the Caspian Sea to move advanced weapons systems, dual-use technologies, sanctioned items and illicit revenue streams.
Kazem Gharibabadi, deputy foreign minister for legal and international affairs, said after meeting the Russian ambassador in Tehran that the two sides had discussed how to counter "unilateral US measures" and the "Iron Gate" programme and had emphasised the need for coordination in the face of common threats. Gharibabadi stated that "Tehran and Moscow stress the need for coordination and cooperation in the face of common threats," adding that "the interests of the littoral states will also be served by maintaining stability and security in the Caspian."
The Washington-based Institute for the Study of War and the "Critical Threats Project" said in their latest joint assessment that "Iran and Russia are cooperating to counter US efforts to stop weapons shipments to Iran via the Caspian Sea and land routes." The study said Iran has used its Caspian Sea trade routes with Russia to import Russian arms before and during the 2026 US-Israel-Iran War, which prompted Ukraine to strike a shipment in July 2026. According to the analysis, the Caspian Sea is out of Western monitoring bodies' reach, allowing sanctioned Russian cargo ships to move consignments from the ports of Astrakhan and Olya to the ports of Anzali, Nowshahr and Amirabad, switching off their Automatic Identification Systems as they approach the shores of the two countries to conceal the nature of their cargoes.
Last summer Ukraine's Security Service announced that the country's long-range drones had targeted two cargo ships in the Caspian Sea which, according to Kyiv, were involved in transferring military equipment between Iran and Russia. In recent years Tehran and Moscow have sought to deepen their security and military ties and expand their economic and transit relations within the framework of the North-South corridor, with completing the Rasht-Astara railway, the missing link connecting Russia to ports in the Persian Gulf, as a flagship project. Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, said after his recent meeting with Russian president Vladimir Putin in Moscow that the council had approved the executive agreement for the construction of this railway, and that the meeting had also discussed building gas pipelines from Russia to Iran to address fuel shortages and allow exports to neighbouring countries.
Tensions over Iran's northern trade routes are rising at a time when the security situation in the southern waters and the Strait of Hormuz also remains fragile and volatile, despite an environment observers describe as a "no war, no peace" situation. The public relations office of the Revolutionary Guard Navy said in a statement on Thursday that two "supertankers" had been involved in an incident the previous night while passing through the southern route of the Strait of Hormuz and had been brought to a halt by a "massive explosion". According to the Guard, the two vessels were carrying more than four million barrels of oil in total and had "ignored repeated warnings that the southern route of the Strait of Hormuz was unauthorised and unsafe". Iran insists that vessels should pass only along the route it has designated in the Strait of Hormuz and says that the security consequences for "violating" ships are their own responsibility.
The Institute for the Study of War and the "Critical Threats Project" also said in their joint assessment that Iran has abandoned the claimed 2,000 kilometre limit on the range of its ballistic missiles, a move which, according to the think tanks, formalises Tehran's longstanding efforts to develop longer range systems. This assessment comes as Tasnim news agency, which is close to the Revolutionary Guard, has reported the display of a new ballistic missile in the Guard's missile city which, by combining the warhead of the "Fattah" missile with the "Kheibarshekan 2" booster, has increased the range of the Fattah hypersonic missile from 1,400 to 2,000 kilometres. At the same time Mohsen Rezaei once again stressed the order attributed to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei for "no geographical limitations in confronting the enemy". In a post on X he again warned Europe that "if the United States starts another war against Iran, every military base involved in this aggression, from West Asia to Europe, will be a legitimate target of Iran's lethal attacks. There will be no safe distance, no safe haven and no immunity."
Meanwhile Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, speaker of Iran's parliament, also criticised Washington's approach in the region, writing that despite the slogan "America First", in practice and in its strategies the Americans have prioritised "Israel First". According to Ghalibaf, Washington's acceptance of Israeli intelligence and plans is the main cause of the United States' current military, political and economic problems in the region.
Source: Euronews. Read the original report ↗