US blockade cost Iran $25 billion in oil revenue, CENTCOM chief says

Iran-backed militias including Hezbollah , Hamas, and groups in Iraq have been redirecting money to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as Tehran faces mounting economic pressure after nine months of war, US Central Command (CENTCOM) chief Adm. Brad Cooper said in a video statement released on Friday.

The United States’ naval blockade has cost Iran an estimated $25 billion in lost oil revenue, he said. Additionally, CENTCOM and the US Treasury Department froze $350 million in Iranian cryptocurrency assets in recent weeks.

Iran-backed militias withholding payments to their own troops to funnel money to IRGC

Cooper noted that the financial pressure had become severe enough for Iran-aligned militias to be said to be withholding payments from their own fighters so that the struggling IRGC could pay its troops.

“The financial strain on Iran’s military has become so significant that there are reports Iran-aligned militia groups across the region withholding payments for their soldiers in order to funnel money back to the IRGC, which also isn’t paying its troops,” Cooper asserted.

The CENTCOM chief attributed increased Iranian attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz to what he described as desperation within the IRGC. He said that the waterway remained open, with 400 ships and 100 million barrels of oil passing through it over the week.

CENTCOM has also mostly paused strikes on Iranian military positions threatening the Strait of Hormuz in recent weeks.

The Trump administration has continued attempts to place economic pressure on Iran to secure an agreement.

A Friday Axios report said that the White House and Qatari mediators were awaiting Iran’s response to a US counterproposal aimed at ending the war.

An American official cited by the media outlet said the White House ordered the pause to avoid escalating the war before the US midterm elections, as US President Donald Trump’s approval rating had dipped to 38%, according to NBC News polling.

The Axios report said that US officials believe that the Islamic Republic is increasing attacks on ships transiting the strait in an effort to raise oil prices and increase pressure on Trump ahead of the midterm elections.