of weapons and illicit materials. The move would expand on the current US naval blockade of Iranian ports during the two countries' eight-month war, in which Tehran has also restricted passage through the critical Strait of Hormuz, choking global energy supplies. According to US Central Command chief Brad Cooper, the Florida-based team of civilian and military personnel will coordinate with US agencies to prevent the movement of advanced weapons systems, dual-use technologies, sanctioned materials, and illegal revenue streams across Iran's land borders and the Caspian Sea, in order to further constrain Iran's ability to finance terrorism and rebuild its weapons factories and military. The US imposed its blockade early in the war in response to Tehran limiting traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, where around a fifth of global oil trade normally passes, a blockade Washington says has already halted around USD 25 billion in Iranian crude oil exports. (Bssnews)