'Defeated on battlefield and at ballot box': Iran mocks Trump as CENTCOM announces land blockade

Mohsen Rezaei, Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, mocked President Donald Trump after Republicans lost the midterms, saying Tehran had beaten him on the battlefield and at the ballot box. He claimed that Iran had inflicted a strategic defeat on Trump in the Strait of Hormuz and a political one in Washington.
The jab landed eight months into a war that began with US-Israeli strikes. Voters angered by rising diesel and consumer prices turned on Trump's party, and Republicans lost both chambers of Congress.
The White House has largely conceded the link. Vice President JD Vance said the war was the reason Republicans lost, and Trump called that "largely true."

"Vance has conceded. Rubio is heading for the exit. Hegseth is about to be tired, and the CENTCOM commander is now a podcaster!" the SNSC chief mentioned the names of some of Trump's aides and their postures after the US midterm elections, which proved a fiasco for them.

CENTCOM expands conflict from sea to land

On Saturday, US Central Command announced Task Force Iron Gate, which extends its months-long naval blockade of Iranian ports to land. The roughly 20-person team, based in Tampa, will work with other US agencies to stop advanced weapons, dual-use technology, sanctioned materials and illicit revenue from crossing Iran's land borders and the Caspian Sea. CENTCOM commander Adm. Brad Cooper said it "reinforces the success of our ironclad blockade." CENTCOM claims the naval blockade has kept more than $25 billion in Iranian crude off the market.

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CENTCOM also said it disabled a commercial cargo vessel in the Gulf of Oman on Saturday as part of the blockade. Iranian media reported explosions on Qeshm Island and in Jask, Sirik and Bandar Abbas.

Two ships struck mines in Hormuz

Iran's Revolutionary Guard Navy said two oil tankers caught fire after striking mines, one in the eastern part of the Strait of Hormuz and the other inside it. The IRGC said both ships had switched off their tracking systems and were using a route Iran had not authorised. It accused the US of backing the attempt and said the strait stays closed until Iran's seven conditions are met. The claim has not been independently confirmed, and the crews' condition is unknown. The IRGC reported a similar incident on Friday, and on Wednesday it claimed four tankers had been destroyed by mines.