The United States stated on Tuesday that Iran has been effectively barred from all maritime trade, excluding humanitarian goods. The move forms part of an ongoing pressure campaign aimed at its oil exports and military financing.
The details came in a video message released by Cooper, outlining American efforts focused on three specific areas. These include restricting Iranian oil exports, disrupting digital financing, and weakening the financial stability of the security forces in Tehran.
"As a point of emphasis, with the exception of the humanitarian assistance we’ve allowed in, Iran has no exports and no imports by sea," Cooper said.
American forces have blocked Iran from exporting at least 25 billion dollars worth of crude oil over recent months, according to the official.
The military has also worked with interagency partners to freeze nearly 350 million dollars in digital cryptocurrency assets. Cooper stated this measure constricts the ability of Iran to fund regional activities or replace destroyed weapons and factories.
Cooper claimed that Iran-aligned groups operating throughout the region have started withholding payments from their own fighters to redirect funds toward the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. He added that the IRGC is struggling to pay its personnel.
"The Islamic regime is clearly feeling the economic pain, and the IRGC is increasingly showing signs of greater desperation as a result," he said.
Despite these maritime trade restrictions, Cooper said that commercial shipping continues to move through the Strait of Hormuz. He accused Iran of carrying out attacks on commercial vessels while stating that US forces are cooperating with regional allies and shipping partners to bolster security.
"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.
Statistics provided show that approximately 400 merchant ships passed through the strait over the preceding seven days. US forces also assisted Gulf partners in transporting more than 100 million barrels of crude oil through the waterway during that week, pushing the total volume shipped with American assistance in recent months past 1.3 billion barrels.
