Trump's first Iran war escalation post-midterm losses seeks to choke off Tehrans trade

President Donald Trump isn't backing off his pressure campaign against Iran despite claims the conflict contributed to sweeping Republican losses in last week's midterm elections.In fact, Trump is doubling down by expanding U.S.efforts to choke off the trade routes Tehran increasingly relies on as it tries to rebuild its military in the midst of war.The new effort, dubbed Task Force Iron Gate, takes aim at a vulnerability that has persisted despite the U.S.

naval blockade: the land and Caspian Sea routes Iran can use to bring in goods, dual-use technology and military supplies beyond the reach of American warships.That approach, one expert claims, fits into a broader administration strategy of tightening the squeeze on Tehran while stopping short of restarting full-scale military operations.Meanwhile, others caution that it could produce escalation rather than an immediate diplomatic breakthrough.IRAN VOWS ‘ASTONISHING’ STRIKES AND LIFTS MISSILE-RANGE LIMIT AS US TARGETS LAND ROUTESAn Iranian cargo truck crosses into the Pakistan-Iran border as an Iranian national flag (L) flies at half-mast at Taftan, Balochistan province on March 1, 2026 after the death of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei amid US-Israel strikes.

(Banaras KHAN / AFP via Getty Images)"We have Operation Iron Gate that just went into effect.That means nothing comes in by land," Trump said Sunday.But the roughly 20-person task force established at U.S.

Central Command headquarters in Tampa is taking a quieter approach than Trump’s sweeping description might suggest."This is not a deployable special operation task force," Farzin Nadimi, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, told Fox News Digital, describing Iron Gate instead as a "fusion cell" coordinating military, civilian and intelligence efforts.US ECONOMIC CHOKEHOLD ON IRAN REACHES PEAK LEVERAGE AS COLLAPSE RISKS EMERGENadimi said its immediate role is likely to center on gathering intelligence about...