US strikes 90 Iranian targets, hits key rail link to China and Russia

After daybreak on Thursday (9 July), US Central Command (Centcom) announced it had concluded its latest round of airstrikes against Iran.

In a statement, it said US forces struck around 90 Iranian military targets, including air defence systems, coastal surveillance assets, missile and drone storage sites, naval capabilities and military logistics infrastructure along Iran's coastline.

Shortly afterwards, US President Donald Trump claimed Iran had reached out, saying it "wants to make a deal".

Axios reporter Barak Ravid reported that the US military hit two railway bridges in northern Iran with cruise missiles during Wednesday's strikes, marking the first reported attacks on Iranian infrastructure since the 8 April ceasefire.

Iran's semi-official Fars News Agency said overnight US strikes hit the Aq Taqeh Khan railway bridge in Golestan province, describing it as a key trade link connecting Iran with its strategic partners China and Russia.

According to Fars, the railway passes through Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan and has become an increasingly important overland route to China following this year's US blockade of Iran's Gulf ports.

The agency added that Russia has also used the corridor to transport cargo to Iran since late 2025.

Fars reported that repairs to the bridge were expected to be completed quickly.

Iran's state railway operator blamed a "criminal attack by the US-Israeli enemy" for the damage and said repair teams had been dispatched. 

State broadcaster IRIB reported that road transport was being arranged for stranded passengers.

Meanwhile, Iran's Health Ministry said two days of US airstrikes had killed at least 14 people and wounded 78 others.

Centcom said that on 7 July, US forces struck around 80 Iranian military targets, including more than 60 Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps small boats, in response to what it described as Iran's violation of the ceasefire by attacking three commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.

On Wednesday, the US military announced a fresh wave of strikes aimed at preserving freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, hours after Trump declared the interim agreement to end the conflict with Iran was "over".

Trump ordered new strikes and warned Tehran of "much worse" consequences if it continued attacking vessels in the strategic waterway.

Iranian state media reported explosions in several locations along the country's southern coast after Centcom announced the latest operation.

Warplanes were heard over Kish Island, while explosions were reported in Bandar Abbas, Konarak and Chabahar. Parts of Chabahar also experienced power outages, according to state news agency IRNA.

"This is in retribution for yesterday's bombing of ships by Iran," Trump wrote on Truth Social. "If it happens again, it will get much worse!"

Thursday's operation appeared larger in scale, with air raid sirens sounding at least twice in Bahrain, which hosts the US Navy's Fifth Fleet headquarters.

Centcom said the strikes were intended to "further degrade" Iran's ability to threaten freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, a route that carried roughly one-fifth of the world's traded oil and liquefied natural gas before the conflict began with US and Israeli attacks on 28 February.

Iranian media also reported explosions in Bushehr, home to Iran's nuclear power plant, and in the southern cities of Chabahar, Konarak, Bandar Abbas and Sirik.

Authorities in Iranshahr said an airport firefighter was killed in one of the strikes.

State media also reported strikes on railway bridges in northeastern Iran.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said two bridges on the route to Mashhad had been targeted.

It was not immediately clear whether one of them was the Aq Taqeh Khan bridge in Golestan province.

Earlier on Wednesday, Trump suggested the renewed fighting would not become a prolonged military campaign.

"Anything that happens is going to happen very fast," he said, while also suggesting the US military might "just finish the job."

He also repeated previous threats to target Iranian civilian infrastructure, including power plants and desalination facilities, and to seize the Kharg Island oil terminal.

After three tankers were attacked on Tuesday, the US launched strikes on Iranian targets. Iran subsequently retaliated by targeting American military sites in the Gulf.

Tehran has maintained that the interim ceasefire agreement gives it the right to regulate traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.

Although Trump ordered retaliatory strikes, he said earlier Wednesday that he expected the latest escalation to end quickly and left open the possibility of renewed diplomacy.

"The United States is holding Iran accountable for recent unjustified aggression against commercial shipping," Centcom said in a post on X.

'If you strike, you will be struck'

In Tehran, Iran's chief negotiator said on Thursday that the Strait of Hormuz would remain open only under "Iranian arrangements".

Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf wrote on X: "America still hasn't learned that bullying and breaking promises are no longer cost-free. Let me put it plainly: if you strike, you'll get hit."

Mohsen Rezaei, a military adviser to Iran's supreme leader, also warned on X that "the aggressor enemy and its accomplices will be severely punished."

Before authorising the latest strikes, Trump declared the ceasefire with Iran had ended, prompting Pakistan, Qatar and the United Nations to urge restraint.

The latest attacks, which Washington said were launched in response to Tuesday's assault on three commercial ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz, rattled several southern Iranian cities and caused power outages in some areas.

Centcom said the strikes were intended to further reduce Iran's ability to threaten shipping through the strategic waterway.

Trump says Iran wants talks

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One late Wednesday, Trump said Iranian officials had "called a little while ago" because they wanted "to make a deal so badly."

He did not identify who had contacted the United States but questioned the value of negotiations, describing the Iranians as "sort of crazy."

The renewed strikes came ahead of Thursday's burial of former supreme leader Ali Khamenei, who was killed at the start of the conflict on 28 February.

Since the outbreak of the war, Tehran has insisted it has the right to control shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, proposing transit fees and warning that vessels deviating from authorised routes could be targeted.

Iranian forces have struck at least three commercial vessels in recent days, prompting US retaliation and subsequent Iranian attacks on US military facilities in Gulf countries.

"We're gonna hit 'em hard tonight," Trump said during a Nato summit in Ankara. He later added that "anything that happens is going to be over very quickly."

Oil prices rose around 8% after Trump's earlier remarks that the ceasefire was "over".

Calls for restraint

UN Secretary-General António Guterres urged "maximum restraint" from all sides, a call echoed by Pakistan, which has played a mediating role between Washington and Tehran.

Iran said Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Qatar's prime minister spoke by phone on Wednesday and stressed the importance of resolving regional issues through diplomacy.

Both Washington and Tehran said they struck dozens of targets during the initial wave of attacks. Iranian state television reported that eight Iranian military personnel were killed.

Centcom said its forces hit more than 80 targets on Tuesday, including air defence systems, coastal radar installations and over 60 Revolutionary Guards small boats.

The Revolutionary Guards said they retaliated by attacking dozens of US military facilities in Kuwait and Bahrain.

Kuwait said it intercepted two ballistic missiles and 13 drones, while Iran said it also targeted the Sheikh Isa Air Base in Bahrain.

A US military official told AFP on Wednesday that the latest Iranian attacks caused no American casualties or significant damage.

"All missiles and drones fired by Iran were intercepted or failed to cause major damage," the official said.

In Bahrain, civil servant Nawal Saad said "the spectre of war is looming once more," adding: "I do not want to go through that experience of fear and anxiety again."

Seafarers remain stranded

Oman, which lies across the Strait of Hormuz from Iran, condemned the attacks on Bahrain and Kuwait as well as the strikes on commercial vessels, but stopped short of directly blaming Tehran.

The Gulf state, which has sought to remain neutral while mediating between Washington and Tehran, continues to face pressure over negotiations on the future administration of the Strait of Hormuz.

The United States has insisted on unrestricted navigation, while Iran maintains that ships should comply with its regulations and has opposed routing vessels through Omani waters.

The three recently attacked vessels were sailing close to Oman, which had proposed a temporary shipping corridor along its coastline.

Although maritime traffic had begun to recover after last month's ceasefire agreement, International Maritime Organization Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez said around 6,000 seafarers remain stranded in the region.