Why US strikes on Iran rail bridge signal shift in Hormuz conflict
A US missile strike on the railway bridge linking Iran to Central and East Asia suggests the White House is once again flirting with politically coercive tactics after the June agreement failed to halt Iran's attacks on Hormuz shipping.
WASHINGTON — The US military struck major civilian infrastructure in Iran early Thursday for the first time since the April 8 ceasefire, expanding beyond the typical military targets hit in previous rounds of attacks.
US Navy vessels and fighter jets hit more than 90 targets overnight across the country in the largest series of strikes since the peak of the conflict earlier this year.
Local Iranian outlets reported explosions spanning more than 1,100 kilometers (680 miles) along the Iranian coast, from Bushehr Province on the Gulf to the port of Chabahar near Iran’s eastern border with Pakistan on the Indian Ocean. Strikes were also reported at coastal sites at Bandar Abbas, Sirik, Kharg Island and Lavan.
US Navy cruise missiles also reportedly hit two bridges in northeastern Iran along a railway route to Mashhad, including the Aq Taqeh Khan bridge, which is part of a rail trade corridor between Iran and China and Russia via Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan.
