U.S. Strikes Hit Iranian Bridges and a Rail Station as the Conflict Widens to Gulf States

The United States carried out a seventh consecutive night of strikes on Iran into July 17-18, 2026, with Iranian state media reporting at least five bridges struck in the south, seven people killed in attacks on bridges at the port of Bandar Khamir where the train station was also hit, and an airport struck at Iranshahr. Iranian outlets later reported three killed and eight wounded in coastal Hormozgan province, with two bridges and a road tunnel damaged. U.S. Central Command said its targets included military logistics infrastructure — the first time in more than a week it had cited infrastructure — and that the strikes were designed to continue degrading Iranian military capabilities. Iran announced attacks on Gulf states hosting U.S. air bases, and Kuwait said a power generation and water desalination station was hit.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said through a spokesperson that he was concerned about the escalation, particularly attacks on civilian infrastructure in Iran and across the region. The strikes proceed under a war-powers notification the administration treats as opening a fresh 60-day window, a reading several members of Congress in both parties dispute.

No agreement over the Strait of Hormuz has been reached. Brent crude rose 3 percent on the reports. Casualty and damage figures come from Iranian state media and have not been independently confirmed; the U.S. military disputed a separate Iranian claim that two tankers exploded on a mined route.