U.S. launches strikes on bridges in Iran
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July 17, 2026, 5:39 AM EDT / Updated July 17, 2026, 4:08 PM EDT
The United States attacked bridges and other key infrastructure in southern Iran overnight into Friday, capping nearly a week of strikes aimed at intensifying pressure on Tehran to give up control of the Strait of Hormuz.
A new round of attacks was announced Friday afternoon by U.S. Central Command.
“CENTCOM launched a round of strikes against Iran at 3 p.m. ET today for the seventh consecutive night. The strikes are designed to continue degrading Iranian military capabilities at the Commander in Chief’s direction,” CENTCOM said in a post on X.
The latest expansion of this campaign appeared targeted at cutting off the main port city of Bandar Abbas from the heart of the Islamic Republic. Tehran hit back with new attacks on U.S. allies in the Middle East, including a first direct attack on a Syrian base and a strike on water infrastructure in Kuwait.
The collapse of the ceasefire and interim agreement has led to days of strikes and counterstrikes across the region, with traffic in the crucial waterway once again largely halted as the two sides battle over it.
Despite mounting fears for the global economy, President Donald Trump insisted the war was going well as he delivered a primetime address to the American public ahead of the midterm elections.
“We are likewise winning big in Iran, and you will see the fruits of that labor very, very shortly,” Trump said.
The U.S. military targeted “military logistics infrastructure” and “maritime capabilities” in Iran during a sixth consecutive night of strikes, U.S. Central Command said late Thursday.
Iranian officials and state media said the attacks hit civilian infrastructure.
At least eight people were killed and 20 others injured in the strikes, Iranian state news agency IRNA reported. It said early Friday that at least six bridges were hit, including one that was under construction.
A railway junction station just west of Bandar Abbas was also hit, the state-owned IRIB news agency said.
The highway and railway bridge strikes appeared aimed at cutting off Bandar Abbas, Iran’s main port, from roads leading toward Tehran, the capital.
While other routes still are open, the U.S. strikes could expand further, potentially disrupting both the movement of military material and goods needed for Iran’s 90 million people.
Iran also acknowledged “attacks on power infrastructure” during the U.S. airstrikes for the first time Friday, with the Energy Ministry asking people in southern provinces to use less electricity, according to the state news agency ISNA.
The latest wave of U.S. strikes also damaged a maritime control tower in Chabahar on the Gulf of Oman, which lies outside the Strait of Hormuz but is a major port operated jointly with India.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth posted a picture on X late Thursday showing the tower collapsing as plumes of smoke rose around it.
Attacks on the tower — the third time in recent days — could impact port operations, the Mehr news agency said.
Trump had threatened to target Iranian infrastructure as tensions over the strait erupted in the past week into the daily exchange of strikes and the reimposition of the U.S. naval blockade.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said Friday it responded by launching missiles and drones toward several U.S. military bases in neighboring countries, including Jordan, Kuwait and Qatar, which has played a key mediating role in the conflict.
A child was injured from falling shrapnel in Qatar during interception operations, the country’s Interior Ministry said on X. Air sirens were sounded in Bahrain, where authorities advised people to head to safety Friday morning. Kuwait’s water and electricity ministry said one of its power and water desalination plants had been targeted, resulting in a fire and damage to several power generation units.
The Guard said it had targeted radar facilities and two HIMARS missile launch platforms in Kuwait, U.S. fighter jets and refueling aircraft in Jordan. It also targeted the Al-Tanf base in Syria, claiming to have targeted a U.S. Special Operations command center.
NBC News could not verify the claims, and there was no immediate comment from the Pentagon. The U.S. military announced the handover of the base to Syrian forces in February.
The escalation over the strait has seen shipping traffic ground to a halt through the waterway, through which a fifth of the world’s oil flowed before the war.
Daily traffic has dwindled to only a dozen or so ships this week after a surge during the ceasefire.On Thursday, just 8 ships transited the Strait of Hormuz, down from 15 the day before
Tehran, which wants ships to move along a route close to its shores and extract a transit fee, declared the entire waterway closed. The U.S., which was encouraging ships to move closer to Oman to ease Tehran’s grip on the key trade route, reimposed its naval blockade.
“As long as the American atrocities continue, not a single drop of oil and gas will be exported from this region,” the Guard said
Despite the attacks, however, it appears communication channels between Washington and Tehran were still open.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Thursday that Iran wants to “make a deal with us” and that the U.S. strikes were in response to Iran firing on commercial vessels in the strait.
Trump has also hailed the “goodwill” gesture of Iran releasing an American citizen imprisoned since 2024. A White House official told NBC News on Thursday that Dena Karari was safely out of Iran and will return home in the coming days.
