Thu 09 July 2026:
On the second straight day of its renewed strikes on the country, the US struck a strategic railway bridge in northern Iran linking it to China and Russia, Iran’s semi-official Fars News Agency reported Thursday.
The cruise missile attack targeted the Ogtay Khan railway bridge in the northeastern Golestan province on Thursday morning, the agency added.
The agency described the bridge as a strategic point on the railway corridor connecting China, Turkmenistan, and Iran.
The reported strike came as Iran suspended passenger rail services between Tehran and the northeastern city of Mashhad after what locals described as a US-Israeli attack on a section of the line.
Iranian state railway said repair crews were sent to the site and that stranded passengers would be transported by road to Mashhad.
The US military’s Central Command said American forces had launched additional strikes on Iran to further degrade Tehran’s ability to threaten freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran and the US on June 17 reached a Pakistan-brokered framework agreement aimed at ending their military conflict and paving the way for a lasting peace agreement.
However, on Wednesday, US President Donald Trump declared that the deal was “over,” effectively triggering a new round of military confrontation.
The US attacks have killed 14 people and wounded 78 over two days with blasts reported in Iranian cities along the Strait of Hormuz, including Bushehr, Chabahar, Bandar Abbas, and Sirik.
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Iran condemns US attacks as a ‘grave war crime’
Iran has denounced US attacks on its territory as a “war crime” and accused Washington of violating the interim deal aimed at ending the war.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry denounced what it described as “aggressive attacks” by the US military on sites throughout southern coastal provinces and two railway bridges along the line leading to the northeastern Iranian city of Mashhad.
The attacks constitute “a grave war crime”, it said in a statement. The ministry accused the US of breaching Articles 1 and 5 of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) on ending the war.
Why have the US and Iran resumed attacks?
- The US and Iran are accusing each other of violating the terms of the MoU signed on June 16.
- The interim deal calls for an end to the war on all fronts, including Lebanon; the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz; lifting the US naval blockade on Iranian ports; waivers on Iranian oil exports; and the release of frozen Iranian assets.
- After signing, the US ended its blockade and issued waivers on exports of Iranian oil until August 21. But Israel continued its deadly attacks on southern Lebanon, drawing protest from Iran.
- The biggest dispute centres on the Strait of Hormuz. Tensions escalated when Oman and the UN announced a maritime corridor to evacuate ships stranded by the war. Iran protested, saying the MoU gives it the sole responsibility to manage shipping in the strait.
- It warned ships against taking unauthorised routes, and days later, two ships were attacked in the waterway.
- The US blamed Iran and struck cities along its southern coast on June 26 and June 27. Iran retaliated with strikes on US bases in Bahrain and Kuwait, before both sides agreed to hold talks.
- Indirect technical negotiations followed in Qatar on July 1, but there appeared to be no breakthrough on Hormuz. And on Tuesday, three ships were attacked in the waterway, triggering this latest round of tit-for-tat strikes.
Traffic in Strait of Hormuz ‘grinds to a near halt’
Maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has ground to a near-halt following a second consecutive day of US strikes against Iran, according to Bloomberg News.
Citing ship tracking data, it said that among larger vessels, only a US-sanctioned supertanker was seen heading out of the Gulf alongside an Iranian-flagged container ship.
Some 14 cargo ships crossed the strait in both directions yesterday, it added, noting that the figure is the lowest since the US-Iran MoU on June 16.
An average of 34 ships transited the strait in the three weeks since the two nations agreed to the interim deal, it noted.
SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES
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