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Eight people have been killed after the US-Israeli strikes destroyed Iran’s tallest bridge, Iran’s state media has said.
The B1 bridge, which links Iran’s capital with the western city of Karaj, was hit with a wave of strikes last night after Donald Trump said he desired to take the nation ‘back to the Stone Age’.
One strike severely damaged the bridge, while a second took place while rescue forces were on the scene helping injured no less than 95 people, Iranian state media claimed.
The strikes also wounded 95 individuals who had gathering under the bridge and along the riverbank to rejoice ‘Nature Day,’ Iran’s state media said, citing authorities in Alborz province.
Hours before the attack, Trump warned late on Thursday about striking and destroying bridges and electric power plants in Iran in his latest threat to hit the country’s infrastructure.
He said the US military ‘hasn’t even began destroying what’s left in Iran. Bridges next, then Electric Power Plants.’
In his message, which he posted on Truth Social, he said that Iran’s leadership ‘knows what needs to be done, and has to be done, FAST!’
Hours later, the B1 bridge was destroyed.
Trump posted again, alongside footage of the constructing collapsing, writing: ‘The most important bridge in Iran comes tumbling down, never for use again — Way more to follow! IT IS TIME FOR IRAN TO MAKE A DEAL BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE, AND THERE IS NOTHING LEFT OF WHAT STILL COULD BECOME A GREAT COUNTRY! President DONALD J. TRUMP.’
The B1 bridge was scheduled to open to traffic this 12 months. ‘Striking civilian structures, including unfinished bridges, is not going to compel Iranians to give up,’ Iran Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said in a press release.
Iranian media reported a drone attack on Friday morning on a Red Crescent relief warehouse within the Choghadak area of southern Bushehr province, saying two containers were destroyed. Bushehr, a significant port city and key maritime hub, also hosts Iran’s first nuclear power facility.
Satellite images also showed smoke rising from the port in Qeshm, an Iranian island strategically situated within the Strait of Hormuz, earlier this week.
Iran and its allies have continued to strike targets across the Gulf. Kuwait Petroleum Corporation said its Mina al-Ahmadi refinery was hit by drones, setting off fires at operating units, but no injuries were reported, based on the state news agency.
Saudi Arabia’s defence ministry said on Friday its air defences intercepted seven drones in recent hours, based on its state news agency.
And a spokesperson for Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya central HQ said on Friday a second U.S. F-35 fighter jet was shot down over central Iran by Revolutionary Guard air defences, with low possibilities of pilot survival.
There was no immediate comment from the US.
Last month, the US military said in a press release that a U.S. F-35 aircraft conducted an emergency landing after flying a combat mission over Iran. The military said the pilot was in stable condition.
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