Iran International
Tehran has dismissed US plans to restrict Iran’s overland trade routes as ineffective propaganda, but Iranian businesses report sharp increases in transportation costs and insurance premiums.
Some say these costs have multiplied several-fold, though it remains unclear how much of the increase can be attributed to the new operation.
Operation Iron Gate follows two earlier US initiatives, Economic Fury and Economic Outcast, which introduced a naval blockade and expanded secondary sanctions across five sectors: digital assets, technology, gold, aviation and shipping.
Iron Gate, by contrast, is a CENTCOM task force rather than a full-scale operation. Established on November 7 and operating with roughly 20 personnel based in Tampa, Florida, its long-term impact remains difficult to assess.
The economic damage
The International Monetary Fund projects a 5.4% economic contraction and 68.9% inflation for 2026.
CENTCOM asserts its blockade has prevented more than $25 billion in crude exports, although the figure has not been independently verified.
While CENTCOM has not specified the total volume of trade Iron Gate aims to block, its stated targets cover weapons, dual-use technology, sanctioned materials and illicit revenue moving through land and Caspian routes.
Ordinary trade is not explicitly targeted, but the scale of Iran's regional commerce illustrates the challenge of enforcing such restrictions.
Regional trade
Iraq has more land crossings with Iran than any other neighbouring country. On November 9, Washington reportedly requested that Baghdad close all but two crossings.
Iraq's Trade Ministry put bilateral trade at $12.5 billion in 2024, while Iranian customs figures showed Iraq purchased $11.9 billion in Iranian exports during the last Iranian calendar year, making it Iran's second-largest export market after China.
Smaller crossings have also expanded rapidly, with Mehran alone handling $453 million in exports over six months.
Reports by Alhurra, the US-funded Arabic-language broadcaster, have highlighted IRGC-supervised smuggling through militia-controlled routes into Iraq, potentially making these networks a particular target for Iron Gate.
Along the Turkish border, six-month bilateral trade reached $7.04 billion, according to Mehr News. Petrochemicals accounted for 48% of Iranian exports and oil products another 33%.
Bazargan remains a major bottleneck, with Iranian officials reporting that Turkey permits only 200 trucks a day, against the 500 requested by Tehran.
To the north, industry estimates published in Iranian economic media project Russia–Iran Caspian cargo volumes of approximately 10 million tonnes in 2026, nearly double the previous year's level.
Iranian exports to Pakistan and Afghanistan amount to roughly $2.4 billion each, alongside extensive informal fuel smuggling on which an estimated 2.4 million people in Pakistan's Baluchistan depend.
Internal strain
Many observers, including some Iranian officials, argue that additional restrictions are unlikely to bring about economic collapse, pointing to Iran's adaptation to nearly five decades of sanctions.
Assessments reported by Reuters have also suggested that renewed military strikes may be unlikely to change Tehran's negotiating position or destabilize its leadership.
Yet the ability of the Iranian state to withstand pressure does not mean its population can absorb the costs. Iranians contacting foreign-based Persian-language outlets, including Iran International, consistently describe the growing hardship facing ordinary households.
Iron Gate may prove more effective at raising trading costs and disrupting specific networks than at restricting Iran's overall commerce.
Oil-product flows through Iraq and Turkey, along with military-related shipments across the Caspian, could face additional scrutiny. But the task force's limited size and the geographical scale of its mission make its eventual impact uncertain.
Caspian maritime traffic, in particular, remains difficult for Washington to reach directly.
Iran may therefore be able to withstand further restrictions, even at the cost of prolonged economic hardship. Tehran could ultimately prefer what amounts to more pressure on ordinary Iranians over geopolitical concessions.
The Revolutionary Guards' unveiling of a new underground missile facility has sparked public anger over military spending, with citizens questioning government priorities amid growing poverty, energy shortages and a lack of civilian shelters.
Iranian media released images on November 10 showing Ali Abdollahi, chief of staff of the armed forces, and Majid Mousavi, commander of the Revolutionary Guards' Aerospace Force, touring what was described as a new underground "missile city."
Neither the facility's location nor the date of the officials' visit was disclosed.
"They have drilled holes into mountains for missile cities, but they have left even bigger holes in people's dinner tables," a resident of Shiraz wrote to Iran International.
Another criticized the focus on expanding missile capabilities rather than addressing economic hardship.
"They either inaugurate missile cities or compete to threaten the region, Europe and the US. The only thing that does not matter to them is the people and their problems," the person wrote.
The unveiling followed remarks by lawmaker Ghasem Ravanbakhsh on November 7 calling for longer-range missiles and discussing the potential ability to target military bases and infrastructure in European countries, including Britain.
Missile facilities and shrinking household budgets
Several citizens questioned the allocation of resources to underground military infrastructure while living standards continue to deteriorate.
"Now we know where the money meant for people's livelihoods is being spent," one person wrote.
Another compared Iran's growing missile infrastructure and the Revolutionary Guards' influence to North Korea, pointing to declining household purchasing power and economic hardship.
Year-on-year inflation reached 88.7 percent in October, the Statistical Center of Iran announced on October 28.
"Regional power and strength are not demonstrated by unveiling missile cities, but by providing people with essential goods and fuel so they do not face shortages," another wrote.
Others questioned the construction and operating costs of underground facilities, including their electricity and gas consumption.
One person estimated construction costs at $50 million per kilometer and questioned why households were being urged to conserve energy while military facilities consumed substantial resources.
The criticism coincided with fresh government warnings about possible winter gas shortages.
Iran faces a gas supply shortfall of approximately 430 million cubic meters, government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani said on November 10, warning of possible interruptions and urging households to reduce consumption.
Some respondents also accused the Revolutionary Guards of controlling access to foreign currency and import permits through affiliated companies, arguing that resources needed for food and medicine were being directed toward missile development and regional allied groups.
Underground missile bases but no public shelters
Another major concern raised by the citizens was the lack of civilian shelters and emergency protection facilities in the event of war.
"I wish that instead of unveiling missile cities, you would unveil underground shelters for the people. Everything matters to the Islamic Republic except the lives of Iranians," a resident of Karaj wrote.
The criticism follows an Iran International report published on November 3 examining civilian preparedness for possible conflict.
Many said they could neither afford emergency supplies nor identify a safe place to shelter during military strikes.
Some also questioned the government's decision to publicize images of facilities presumed to be sensitive military sites while providing no recent images of Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei.
They contrasted the publicity surrounding underground missile infrastructure with the continued absence of new public images of the country's leader.
Workers struggling with mounting debts and rising living costs are offering their kidneys, liver tissue and bone marrow for sale to repay debts and keep their homes, the labor-focused ILNA news agency reported on November 11.
Advertisements offering organs for sale cover walls, metal doors and buildings along some streets in central Tehran, where ILNA interviewed workers and other residents whose earnings no longer cover their basic expenses.
Farhang Hosseini Street, widely known as "Kidney Street," has become a gathering point for people seeking buyers, partly because of its proximity to a municipal medical facility and a charity supporting kidney patients.
The advertisements extend beyond kidneys to liver tissue, bone marrow and other body parts, according to ILNA.
Workers seek billions of rials for kidneys
Most people advertising kidneys for sale are workers and individuals facing serious financial difficulties, an employee at Sadra Hospital told ILNA.
Asking prices generally range from 30 billion to 40 billion rials ($11,500 to $15,300), although kidneys from people with O-positive blood may be offered for eight billion rials ($3,100). Prices for rarer blood groups can reach 50 billion rials ($19,200), the employee said.
A 30-year-old motorcycle courier in Tehran said he had rejected an offer of 15 billion rials ($5,750) for his kidney, plus an expected two billion rials ($770) from insurance, but the amount would not cover his debts.
The courier is now seeking at least 35 billion rials ($13,400).
Another man, a self-employed worker aged about 58, said he needed between seven and eight billion rials ($2,680 to $3,070) to settle an outstanding check and was prepared to sell an organ for 20 to 30 percent below the usual asking price.
The accounts come as financial pressures leave growing numbers of households struggling to afford basic necessities.
Around eight million people have fallen into absolute poverty and malnutrition because of the government's mishandling of preferential currency subsidies, parliamentary social affairs committee chairman Ali Babaei Karnami said on November 8.
Up to 50 million more people face difficulties affording food, Babaei Karnami said.
Multiple organs advertised for sale
Some workers are advertising several organs simultaneously in hopes of securing enough money to settle their debts.
A 33-year-old construction worker told ILNA he wanted 40 billion rials ($15,300) for his bone marrow and had also advertised his kidney and liver tissue for sale.
"I have advertised my liver and kidney for sale as well. I have all my medical examination results and health documents, and I am completely healthy," the worker said.
Another worker had advertised his kidney, liver tissue and testicle for sale, saying his financial difficulties had left him with few options.
After an ILNA reporter explained that testicular transplantation was not performed in Iran, the worker said he had been unaware of that and was willing to sell whichever organ attracted a buyer first and offered the highest payment.
The advertisements highlight the widening gap between earnings and household expenses.
Minimum-wage workers typically earn between 200 million and 300 million rials ($77 to $115) a month, including benefits, while independent labor activists estimate that a household needs around one billion rials ($383) monthly to cover basic living costs, according to ILNA.
Workers on temporary or seasonal contracts face additional difficulties, including unstable employment and earnings below the minimum wage.
Financial hardship forces difficult choices
Reports of people selling organs to cover living expenses have emerged repeatedly in recent years.
In March 2024, Tejarat News reported that young Iranians, including teenagers, were offering kidneys and bone marrow for sale to meet their financial needs.
Financial difficulties have also affected access to medical treatment.
Two retirees died after abandoning medical treatment because they could no longer afford it, Jalal Hashemi, chairman of the Homa retirees' association, said on October 26.
In January 2022, Hossein Biglari, head of the Kermanshah Kidney Patients Support Association, said some Iranians were traveling to Iraq to sell their kidneys for higher prices in dollars.
For construction workers and motorcycle couriers, physical health is essential to earning a living.
Selling an organ may temporarily relieve financial pressures but could undermine their health and ability to work in the future, ILNA wrote, highlighting the longer-term consequences for workers turning to their own bodies to repay debts.
Students across Iran are attending classes without adequate heating despite freezing temperatures and heavy rainfall, as the government warns of possible gas shortages but insists on keeping schools open, according to accounts received by Iran International.
Government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani warned on November 10 of possible gas cuts in Tehran and other parts of the country but said the government's policy remained focused on maintaining in-person education.
The warnings come as families face growing school expenses, including demands to cover utility bills, while unreliable internet access and the cost of online learning complicate alternatives to classroom teaching.
Students bring blankets to freezing classrooms
Students and parents from several cities told Iran International that schools had refused to turn on heating systems despite falling temperatures.
"We are shivering from the cold at school, but they tell us they need an Education Ministry directive before turning on the heaters," one student said.
A student in the northwestern city of Ardebil said radiators remained off despite snowfall on November 9, with school officials citing energy shortages.
"Things have reached the point where some students are bringing travel blankets with them," the student said.
In Tabriz, northwestern Iran, where temperatures fell to minus five degrees Celsius, students said school officials refused to switch on radiators and told them to warm classrooms with their breath.
Students in the northern city of Chalus, northwestern Miandoab and Abyek near Tehran described similar conditions, including heavy rainfall, flooding and unheated classrooms.
A parent in the northern city of Amol said students at a private school had fallen ill after attending classes in severe cold.
"If these children catch a cold, how can we afford to treat even a simple cold at these prices?" the parent asked.
Broken heating systems and school fees
Accounts from students suggest the problem extends beyond restrictions on heating use to deteriorating infrastructure and insufficient funding.
A student in Gilan province, northern Iran, said radiators at their high school had remained broken since last year, except in the principal's office.
In Tehran, students described classrooms without heating, while one said their school lacked both electricity and gas. Another said officials blamed budget shortages for keeping radiators off.
A student in Karaj said the school, attended by approximately 500 students, had no classroom heating despite collecting substantial enrollment fees.
In Borujerd, Lorestan province, a student questioned spending priorities after the school installed two surveillance cameras in every classroom without providing adequate heating or cooling.
More than 500 schools in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province were undergoing heating upgrades and other repairs, Tabnak reported on November 6, citing earlier comments by a provincial school infrastructure official.
Heating problems had also delayed the opening of five or six educational projects.
Families face rising education costs
School closures offer no straightforward solution for families struggling with internet disruptions, expensive data packages and limited access to equipment for online education.
An Iran International Instagram poll published on August 27 found that 61 percent of approximately 55,500 respondents preferred online learning, citing concerns including student safety and financial pressures.
The remaining 39 percent favored classroom education, pointing to poor internet connectivity, electricity outages and declining educational quality online.
Financial demands from schools have added to families' difficulties.
Iran International reported on November 1 that some public schools were asking parents to contribute toward electricity, water and gas bills, maintenance and classroom equipment.
A student in Ahvaz said school officials demanded 1000,000 rials per pupil for examination papers and warned that those who failed to pay would receive a minus grade.
Another parent said a public elementary school in Tehran demanded 2,500,000 rials for a routine examination.
The charges add to the financial burden on families in a country where the minimum monthly wage stands at about 166 million rials, equivalent to roughly $61 at the current exchange rate.
The US Treasury Department confirmed on Tuesday that Secretary Scott Bessent had relocated from his Washington home to a military base following threats against his life from Iran.
"Threats against Sec. Bessent reached more than an advanced stage, which is why he and his family made the move," a senior Trump administration official told Fox News Digital.
The New York Times first reported the relocation, citing three people familiar with the matter. Reuters subsequently confirmed the move through two sources, while Fox News Digital obtained confirmation from the Treasury Department.
Security concerns intensified after photo of residence published
A person familiar with the matter told Reuters that concerns about Bessent's safety intensified after The Wall Street Journal published an aerial photograph of his residence in Washington's Georgetown neighborhood.
The photograph made it possible to identify the property's location, the source said, heightening security concerns amid the threats attributed to Iran.
"The news media has an obligation to act responsibly amid growing threats against public officials," the person told Reuters.
The military base where Bessent and his family relocated has not been publicly identified.
Treasury says Bessent will not be deterred
A senior administration official told Fox News Digital that the threats reflected the effectiveness of Washington's economic pressure campaign against Tehran, arguing that Iran was targeting the official responsible for the strategy.
A Treasury spokesperson told Fox News Digital that Bessent would "not be deterred by the Iranian regime's threats."
Bessent has overseen Operation Economic Outcast since August, a campaign combining financial sanctions and restrictions on trade to pressure Tehran over its military activities and the disruption of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
US intelligence warns Iranian plots have advanced
The reported threats follow a warning from a senior US intelligence official that Iranian plots targeting American personnel and citizens had reached an advanced stage.
Reuters said it reviewed a memorandum containing the warning late last month.
The New York Times also reported that US officials had identified specific threats they considered serious.
The newspaper said US officials assessed Iran's ability to carry out large-scale attacks in the United States and other overseas locations as limited.
Iran has previously denied involvement in plots to attack officials or other individuals on American soil.
Bessent oversees US blockade and sanctions on Iran
The Treasury Department's economic pressure campaign has targeted Middle Eastern bank branches and financial services companies that Washington says facilitate transactions involving Iran.
The measures operate alongside a US naval blockade of Iranian ports, intended to restrict Tehran's oil revenue and pressure it to halt attacks on commercial shipping and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
The waterway, a major route for global energy exports, has faced severe disruptions since the United States and Israel launched their military campaign against Iran on February 28.
Washington has also expanded its efforts beyond maritime routes. On November 7, US Central Command announced Task Force Iron Gate, a new initiative to disrupt shipments of advanced weapons, dual-use technologies and sanctioned materials across Iran's land borders and the Caspian Sea.
US President Donald Trump says the Iran war is effectively over militarily, but his plan to maintain a naval blockade raises questions about how long the standoff can last and whether it serves the interests of the Arab neighbors he says support it.
“Most importantly, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait and others would prefer the status quo, that we remain as is,” Trump told reporters at the White House on Monday after meeting Qatar’s prime minister.
He described that approach as continuing the US naval blockade, while keeping American forces ready for renewed military action.
Speaking to reporters in Paris after meetings with G7 counterparts on Tuesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said US sanctions and the naval blockade were inflicting growing economic damage on Iran, reducing the need for further major combat operations.
Regional analysts disagree over whether that policy offers Arab states across the Persian Gulf their safest option or prolongs a confrontation that threatens their security and economies.
Pressure without stability
Ghaith al-Omari, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute and former executive director of the American Task Force on Palestine, offered the opposite assessment to Trump’s. Regional governments want a weaker Islamic Republic, he said, but that does not mean they favor an indefinite blockade.
“They would like to see the regime weakened, but they don't believe that the blockade serves their interests,” he told Iran International.
Even where oil continues to flow, insurance costs and the risk of further attacks weigh on regional economies. Prolonged uncertainty also threatens the stability underpinning investment, tourism, finance and logistics, he said.
“No war, no peace equals uncertainty, equals instability,” al-Omari said.
He argued that Arab governments across the Persian Gulf doubt Washington’s willingness to sustain the policy.Trump’s midterm setback has intensified concerns that domestic pressure could prompt an abrupt change, leaving neighboring countries to manage the consequences.
Without an agreement reopening the Strait of Hormuz and ending the conflict, some governments could seek separate arrangements with Tehran to reduce their exposure, he said.
Between a rock and a hard place
Dalia Ziada of the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy (ISGAP) described the Arab states of the Persian Gulf as caught “between a rock and a hard place”: fearful of a resurgent Islamic Republic, yet harmed by the instability of a prolonged standoff.
“They don't want the Iranian regime to get strong again,” she told Iran International.
But continued insecurity carries its own economic consequences, threatening the region’s appeal to investors and confidence in its future.
“The biggest loss for the wealthy Gulf states is the lack of stability,” Ziada said.
She argued that differences among regional governments, combined with doubts about the reliability of American protection, complicate their choices. Their concerns cannot be reduced to a simple preference for war or continued restraint, she said.
One incident could break the standoff
Mohamed Fahmy, a journalist and Middle East political analyst, also sees significant differences among Iran’s Arab neighbors.
“There is no unified Gulf position on how long the blockade should continue,” he told Iran International.
Saudi Arabia and the UAE see value in maintaining American pressure until Tehran makes meaningful concessions, Fahmy said, while Qatar and Oman place greater emphasis on mediation.
Their shared interest in reducing the Iranian military threat does not eliminate the costs of prolonged confrontation.
“The UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar have invested heavily in presenting themselves as stable international hubs for business, tourism, finance and logistics. Prolonged confrontation threatens those ambitions,” he said.
Those concerns reflect damage already sustained. An October 15 Reuters investigation documented at least 135 missile and drone attacks by Iran and allied groups against at least 84 infrastructure sites across seven Arab countries since US-Israeli attacks on Iran began on February 28. The tally covered infrastructure attacks, rather than every launch or attempted strike.
Fahmy said the standoff could continue for some time because Washington and Tehran both appear to believe waiting will improve their negotiating positions. But an attack killing American personnel or seriously damaging Persian Gulf energy infrastructure could trigger renewed military action.
“It takes only one serious incident involving American forces, a commercial tanker or a Gulf energy installation to undermine the current restraint,” he said.
Growing pressure in Washington over financial costs, military commitments and the absence of a clear exit strategy could instead encourage a negotiated settlement, he argued.
The case for staying the course
Saad bin Tefla Al-Ajmi, Kuwait’s former information minister, argues that maintaining the status quo remains the least harmful choice.
“The solution is to keep the status quo as is. That’s the best solution,” he told Iran International, referring to an article he supplied outlining his position.
Renewed war could bring further Iranian attacks on neighboring countries, he argues, while American withdrawal could leave them exposed.
“The third option is the safest and best for us, for the region and for the beleaguered peoples of Iran,” he wrote in the article.
Al-Ajmi advocates sustained naval and economic pressure alongside efforts to constrain Tehran’s regional armed allies. He predicts that pressure could eventually bring down the regime, although that outcome remains uncertain.
He acknowledges the costs to neighboring states.
“The Gulf states are indeed paying a price under this scenario. Their trade is disrupted, tensions persist in their airspace and their projects are delayed,” he wrote.
His support for maintaining that pressure rests on the judgment that the alternatives would be worse. The question is whether Washington and its regional partners can sustain it without an escalation that forces them back into war.
