US President Donald Trump said yesterday the tallest bridge in Iran had been destroyed, hours after threatening to bomb the country ‘back to the Stone Ages’.
Trump posted footage on social media of smoke rising from the B1 bridge in Karaj, around 35km southwest of Tehran – and warned that there would be further destruction unless Iran comes to the table to end the five-week war.
“The biggest bridge in Iran comes tumbling down, never to be used again – Much 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!” Trump said.
Video showed fire and smoke rising from the bridge, and then a large chunk missing from the middle.
Iranian state television had earlier reported two US-Israeli strikes on the bridge.
“A few minutes ago, the American-Zionist enemy once again targeted the B1 bridge in Karaj,” state TV said, adding that an initial strike had caused two civilian casualties.
It said the later attack took place as emergency teams were deployed to the site to help victims of the first strike.
The state-affiliated Fars news agency later reported that eight people were killed and 95 others injured in the attack.
In response, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that ‘striking civilian structures, including unfinished bridges, will not compel Iranians to surrender’.
A US official told Axios that the bridge was targeted because it was used by the Iranian military to covertly transport missiles and components from Tehran to launch sites in western Iran, as well as to provide logistical support for the Iranian military in the capital.
The B1 bridge, which was still under construction, is considered the Middle East’s tallest according to Iranian state-affiliated media, with a 136-metre column.
A century-old medical research centre and steel plants in Tehran were also targeted by US-Israeli strikes yesterday, according to media reports.
A US diplomatic and logistics centre, located in the airport complex in western Baghdad, was targeted by a drone attack amid the American Embassy’s warning that pro-Iran armed groups in Iraq may attack the city in the coming one or two days.
A missile was launched from Yemen towards Israel as Jerusalem reported multiple attacks from Iran yesterday.
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