US launches fresh wave of strikes as Iran says civilian infrastructure hit

Here is the latest breaking news from around the world: US launches fresh wave of strikes as Iran says civilian infrastructure hitImage source, ReutersImage caption, The US launched strikes for the sixth night in a row, as fighting over control of the Strait of Hormuz continuesByJaroslav Lukiv and Toby MannPublished16 July 2026Updated 12 minutes agoThe US launched a new wave of strikes against Iran for a sixth night in a row, its military said, as the two sides battled for control of the Strait of Hormuz. US Central Command (Centcom) said the attacks were intended to "further degrade Iranian military capabilities", before saying it had boarded a vessel as part of its blockade of the strait. In an apparent escalation, Iran's state media reported that the US had struck civilian infrastructure, including bridges, a train station and an airport.

The has verified an attack on one bridge to the west of Bandar Abbas in Hormozgan province. The has contacted the White House and Centcom for comment. US missiles also struck close to the island of Qeshm, near the strait, as well as in Bandar Abbas and Bushehr - the site of a nuclear power plant.

The Details

Centcom did not mention bridges in its list of the "dozens of Iranian military targets" it hit in the latest round of strikes, which ended in the early hours of Friday. It said jets, drones and ships had attacked "coastal surveillance and air defense sites, military logistics infrastructure, and maritime capabilities". Earlier this week, US President Donald Trump threatened to strike Iran's bridges and power plants if the country did not return to talks.

After Trump said in April that the US would bomb civilian infrastructure in Iran, including bridges and power plants, UN human rights chief Volker Türk said "deliberately attacking civilians and civilian infrastructure is a war crime". The 1949 Geneva Conventions on humanitarian conduct in war prohibit attacks on sites considered essential for civilians. Iran said on Friday it had targeted US military infrastructure in Kuwait and Bahrain after it accused Washington of targeting Iranshahr Airport in southeastern Iran, a railway station in coastal Bandar Khamir as well as five bridges in the port city.

Seven people were killed in the strikes, state news agency IRNA reported. Image source, ReutersImage caption, Smoke rises after what the US military says is its latest wave of strikes on IranCentcom also said marines had boarded an oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman as part of the renewed US blockade of Iran's ports that began on Tuesday night. It added it had "redirected 3 commercial vessels trying to run the blockade".

According to Centcom, US forces disabled nine ships and redirected more than 140 under its previous blockade of Iranian ports between 13 April to 18 June. As the the renewed hostilities further strained the preliminary deal to end the war, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Thursday that Trump remained open to talks with Iran.

The development has drawn wide international attention, with diplomatic circles watching closely.