CENTCOM: IRGC can no longer afford to pay its forces

US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a new report on Friday, 16 October 2026, that economic pressure on the Islamic Republic has reached the point where the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) can no longer afford to pay its forces' salaries. The report follows remarks by Admiral Brad Cooper, the CENTCOM commander, on the results of the naval blockade, which DIAR had previously reported.

According to CENTCOM, reports that have reached the command indicate that some paramilitary groups affiliated with the Islamic Republic have stopped paying their fighters in order to send the money to the IRGC. In other words, the flow of money that for years went from Tehran to the proxy forces has now been reversed.

Cash shortage in the IRGC and military industries

CENTCOM said the Islamic Republic can no longer fund proxy groups, criminal networks and attacks on the United States and its allies, and that its ability to replace destroyed weapons and production facilities is severely limited. In the command's assessment, the IRGC is showing growing signs of desperation.

CENTCOM's report states that the shortage of financial resources now extends to the energy and oil, steel and heavy industry, manufacturing and automotive, aviation, construction, and security and military sectors. According to CENTCOM, no goods are currently being imported to or exported from Iran's ports by sea.

The naval blockade and the Strait of Hormuz

In his video message, Admiral Brad Cooper had said the naval blockade has stopped oil exports worth 25 billion dollars and that the United States helped block 350 million dollars in cryptocurrency belonging to the Islamic Republic. He added that US forces helped about 400 commercial ships pass through the Strait of Hormuz last week, and that more than one billion barrels of oil have left the waterway under their escort since the start of the war. According to him, more than 20 civilian seafarers have been killed since last March in the Islamic Republic's attacks on commercial ships.

The report comes as Masoud Pezeshkian said a few days ago that, with the money available, he put paying employees' salaries ahead of importing gasoline, an admission that shows the government's financial crisis has spread from the public budget to its military apparatus as well.

According to CENTCOM, the flow of money has now been reversed, and proxy groups, instead of receiving money from the IRGC, are paying money to it.