CENTCOM chief says US blockade cost Iran $25bn in oil exports and $350m in crypto frozen

Mixed · 2In a video message released on Friday 16 October, US Central Command (CENTCOM) commander Adm. Brad Cooper said US forces had prevented Iran from exporting at least $25 billion worth of crude oil in recent months. 1 2 Right · 1Cooper said that, apart from allowed humanitarian assistance, "Iran has no exports and no imports by sea", and described US efforts as focused on restricting oil exports, disrupting digital financing and weakening Iranian security forces' ability to pay personnel. 2 Mixed · 2He said CENTCOM had supported US interagency partners, including the Treasury Department according to the Times of India, in freezing nearly $350 million in Iranian cryptocurrency assets. 2 3

Right · 1Cooper said there were reports that Iran-aligned groups across the region, including Hezbollah, Hamas and Shia militias in Iraq according to the Times of India, were withholding pay from their fighters to send money back to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which he said was also not paying its troops. 2 Right · 1Cooper said the Iranian government was withholding salaries, pensions and benefits from workers; Breitbart lists oil, energy, manufacturing, construction and the IRGC, and the Times of India adds public sector workers including internal security personnel. 2 Right · 1Cooper said the "Islamic regime is clearly feeling the economic pain" and the IRGC was showing "greater desperation"; he attributed a recent rise in Iranian attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz to that desperation. 2

Right · 1He said the Strait of Hormuz "is controlled by the United States and our regional partners, not Iran, and it remains open for business", with about 400 merchant ships and 100 million barrels of oil passing through in the previous seven days; Anadolu and Breitbart say US-assisted shipments in recent months total more than 1.3 billion barrels. 2 Right · 1Breitbart adds that Cooper said the IRGC has kept attacking merchant vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, killing more than 20 civilian mariners since February according to International Maritime Organization figures he cited, and that more than 50,000 US service members remain deployed in the Middle East. 2 Right · 1Breitbart also reports Iranian pushback: President Masoud Pezeshkian called the US sanctions "beyond the bounds of humanity", and Army spokesman Brig. Gen. Mohammad Akraminia disputed US control of Hormuz, claiming US warships had been pushed more than 500 kilometres from Iran's shores. 2

Right · 1Breitbart says the blockade was reimposed in July after the 38-day Operation Epic Fury campaign earlier this year, and that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced in early October that September was the first month on record in which Iran loaded no crude for export. 2 Centre · 1The Times of India places this after nine months of war and says the Trump administration is keeping the blockade and sanctions to push Tehran towards a deal including nuclear concessions, while Iran has yet to answer a US counterproposal to end the war; the White House and Qatari mediators are awaiting its reply. 3 Centre · 1The Times of India also reports, citing a US official, that the US military has largely paused strikes on Iranian anti-ship missile and drone launchers near the strait, with the White House ordering the pause to avoid escalation before the November midterm elections. 3