Admiral Brad Cooper, head of U.S. Central Command, delivered a video message this Friday declaring the U.S. naval blockade has cost Iran a staggering $25 billion in lost oil revenue and $350 million in cryptocurrency frozen.
He added that Iran‑backed militias – from Hezbollah to Hamas and Iraqi Shia groups – are now redirecting money back to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a move that further strains the militia’s finances and the IRGC’s ability to pay its own soldiers.
The financial squeeze is so severe that reports surface of militia groups withholding wages for their fighters, while the Iranian government itself has stalled salaries, pensions and benefits for public‑sector workers, including security personnel.
Cooper said the blockade’s toll has already pushed the IRGC into a desperate state, prompting a spike in attacks on commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz. 400 ships and 100 million barrels of oil have passed the strait the past week, but the U.S. has largely paused strikes on Iranian missile and drone launch sites to avoid a flare‑up before the November midterms.
Meanwhile, Washington and Qatari mediators are waiting for Tehran’s reply to a counter‑proposal aimed at ending the war. The U.S. Treasury Department has frozen the crypto assets, and the next step hinges on Iran’s response – or lack thereof – to the deal offer.
The situation raises questions about the future of global oil flows and the stability of the region’s security architecture, but for now, both sides remain at a standstill.