The U.S. naval blockade of Iran has blocked at least $25 billion in Iranian crude oil exports, U.S. Central Command chief Adm. Brad Cooper said Friday in a video update posted by CENTCOM.
“The sum total of these actions has imposed devastating costs on Iran’s security apparatus and the IRGC specifically,” Cooper said, referring to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Breitbart News and Fox News reported the update.
What Cooper reported
- Oil: At least $25 billion in crude kept from export. Cooper said that, apart from humanitarian aid the U.S. has allowed in, “Iran has no exports and no imports by sea.”
- Crypto: CENTCOM helped other U.S. agencies freeze about $350 million in Iranian cryptocurrency.
- Pay: Cooper said Iran’s government is withholding salaries, pensions and benefits from workers in oil and energy, manufacturing, construction, security and the IRGC itself.
- Proxies: He said there are reports that Iran-aligned militia groups are holding back their own fighters’ pay to send money back to the IRGC.
- Shipping: About 400 merchant ships moved through the Strait of Hormuz in the past week, Cooper said, according to Breitbart.
CENTCOM also posted a fact sheet titled “Economic Pressure on Iranian Security Apparatus” with the video. Iran’s government has not confirmed the payroll claims.
Where the blockade stands
The U.S. reimposed the naval blockade in July. Breitbart reported that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said earlier this month that September was the first month on record in which Iran loaded no crude oil for export.
“Let me be clear: the Strait of Hormuz is controlled by the United States and our regional partners, not Iran, and it remains open for business,” Cooper said. More than 50,000 U.S. service members remain deployed in the region, Fox News reported.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian called the U.S. sanctions “beyond the bounds of humanity” on Friday and said Iran would not give in, Breitbart reported. President Donald Trump, speaking at a rally in Georgia the same day, said strikes had removed so many Iranian leaders that “I have nobody to talk to.”
Sources: CENTCOM video update and fact sheet posted on X, Oct. 16; Breitbart News; Fox News live coverage, Oct. 16.
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