U.S. targets more bridges as its Iran campaign expands

U.S. targets more bridges as its Iran campaign expands JON GAMBRELL DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES THE ASSOCIATED PRESS PUBLISHED 1 HOUR AGO Open this photo in gallery: A vessel in the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, July 16. STRINGER/REUTERS SHARE SAVE FOR LATER Listen to this article Learn more about audio Log in or create a free account to listen to this article. The United States expanded its airstrike campaign against Iran early Friday by hitting more bridges and apparently collapsing a tower at a key Iranian port, part of U.S. President Donald Trump’s threats to start striking infrastructure to pressure Tehran to ease its chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz. Iran launched new missile attacks against U.S.-allied nations in the Middle East, including Qatar, a key mediator in the war. The interim ceasefire agreed to last month has collapsed, and the region has endured days of back-and-forth attacks by the U.S. and Iran as they battle for control of the strait. Iranian officials say U.S. strikes have killed dozens of people and wounded hundreds of others, with new casualties reported in Friday’s strikes. When the U.S. and Israel launched the war on Iran on Feb. 28, Tehran effectively closed the strait to shipping traffic, a move that sent the price of oil soaring and gave Iran major leverage in negotiations. Speaking in a primetime address to the American public, Trump insisted the war was going well. “We are likewise winning big in Iran, and you will see the fruits of that labor very, very shortly,” Trump said. Bridges and a port tower hit in Iran The U.S. airstrikes hit bridges overnight into Friday in Iran’s southern Hormozgan province, killing at least seven people, Iranian state television reported. The attacks hit Bandar Khamir, a city on Iran’s coast on the Strait of Hormuz. The U.S. military’s Central Command said it hit dozens of targets in its latest airstrikes, which concluded at dawn Friday, the sixth night in a row of American attacks. The strikes also appeared to have collapsed a tower at Iran’s Chabahar port on the Gulf of Oman, a key trade route for landlocked, neighboring Afghanistan. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth shared the image of the surveillance tower appearing to collapse. That image had circulated social media via activists prior to Hegseth sharing it. Chabahar port, which Iran had been running with support from India, has been a repeated target of American airstrikes. Iranian state media…