At the nine-month mark of the ongoing conflict, figures relayed through US Central Command by Admiral Brad Cooper put the toll on Iran's oil export revenues at around $25 billion, attributed to a naval blockade, alongside approximately $350 million in cryptocurrency holdings placed under freeze.
In a video statement posted on Friday, Cooper indicated that Iran-aligned factions operating across the region — among them Hezbollah, Hamas, and Shia militias based in Iraq — had been directing funds back toward the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, an organisation that had long provided financial backing to those same groups. Cooper added that the IRGC's military budget had come under enough pressure that some affiliated militia groups in the region had reportedly held back pay from their own fighters in order to redirect money to the IRGC, which was itself said to be withholding wages from its personnel.
Wages, retirement payments, and other benefits owed to government employees — among them internal security forces and members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps — were being held back by the administration, he said.
Pressure on Iran's finances has intensified against a backdrop of ongoing naval restrictions and economic penalties that the Trump administration has kept in place, with the stated aim of bringing Tehran to the table on terms that would include nuclear programme concessions. No reply from Iran has been forthcoming on the counterproposal put forward by Washington to bring the conflict to a close.
According to Cooper, both CENTCOM and the US Treasury Department had moved to freeze approximately $350 million in Iranian cryptocurrency holdings over the preceding weeks. Estimates put the toll on Iranian oil export earnings from the blockade at around $25 billion.
The uptick in IRGC-linked vessel incidents along the Strait of Hormuz was pinned by Cooper on what he characterised as a state of mounting pressure within that organisation. Vessel traffic along the waterway has continued uninterrupted in the wake of the attacks, with roughly 400 ships and 100 million barrels of oil recorded in transit across the preceding seven days.
Airstrikes targeting Iranian anti-ship missile systems and drone-launch platforms near the strait have been largely held in abeyance by the US military over the past several weeks. The halt was put in place on White House instructions, according to an unnamed official, who pointed to concerns about inflaming tensions in the run-up to the November midterm vote.
Analysts have noted that a continuation of the attacks may lead shipping operators to avoid the strait, which would tighten petroleum availability and place upward pressure on prices worldwide. Sources within the assessment hold that Tehran's actions are oriented toward driving up crude prices while intensifying pressure on Trump before the vote.
Both the White House and Qatari intermediaries are holding for a reply from Tehran on a counteroffer put forward by Washington aimed at bringing the conflict to a close. According to one American government representative, Tehran had not yet reached a decision on the proposal. Brokers from the region conveyed to Abbas Araghchi that holding off on a reply until after the midterm elections carried no assurance that Trump would adopt a softer posture once those votes were cast.
