The New York Times: An American official told the magazine that "the Iron Gate task force is not intended to carry out military operations against Iran, but to pressure neighboring countries to cut off legal trade with Tehran and with illegal countries.
Washington seeks to tighten restrictions on Iran's overland trade networks by getting neighboring countries to enforce controls along their borders, rather than taking direct military action.
So far the program has yielded little success. Most of Iran's neighbors, mainly Turkey, Pakistan and Iraq, have so far refused to cooperate with Washington, fearing that such steps could damage their economies and cause unrest among the border communities.