US Airstrike Destroys Iran’s B1 Bridge, Trump Warns of More Attacks Ahead

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A U.S. airstrike destroyed Iran’s landmark B1 suspension bridge between Tehran and Karaj overnight, killing at least eight people and wounding 95, as President Donald Trump publicly celebrated the attack and warned that bridges and electric power plants across the country could be next theguardian +2. The strike severed what Iranian officials had billed as the country’s largest and tallest bridge, a $400m showpiece of national infrastructure, and deepened fears of a wider war across the Middle East ynetnews +1.

Was the B1 Bridge a Military Target or a Civilian Symbol?

U.S. officials said American forces hit the bridge twice to eliminate what they described as a planned military supply route for Iran’s missile and drone forces, framing the span as a legitimate military objective within an ongoing campaign to degrade Iran’s war-fighting capacity theguardian +1. Trump hailed the destruction online, boasting that “the biggest bridge in Iran comes tumbling down, never to be used again — much more to follow!” and later adding that the U.S. military “hasn’t even started destroying what’s left in Iran” al-monitor +1.

Iranian authorities accused Washington of attacking civilian infrastructure, saying the bridge was either unfinished or newly opened and used by commuters and families; provincial officials reported that casualties included construction workers and people in nearby vehicles and picnic areas theguardian +1. International law experts noted that whether the bridge was a lawful military objective would hinge on detailed intelligence about its use and on proportionality — whether the anticipated military gain outweighed the predictable harm to civilians — a balance some warned the U.S. was in danger of breaching as its target set expands theguardian +1.

Escalation Risks as Iran Threatens ‘Bridge-for-Bridge’ Retaliation

Within hours of the strike, Iran’s foreign ministry condemned what it called a “moral collapse” by the U.S. and vowed retaliation, while state-linked outlets published lists of major bridges across Gulf states and Jordan as potential tit-for-tat targets indianexpress +1. Tehran has already launched missile and drone attacks on regional energy infrastructure in recent days, including refineries in Kuwait, prompting condemnation from Western governments and sparking fresh concerns over the safety of critical transport and energy corridors torontosun.

The World Health Organization said related strikes had rendered Iran’s century-old Pasteur Institute — a key medical research centre — unable to deliver health services, part of a pattern of more than 20 verified attacks on healthcare since 1 March that humanitarian officials warned could undermine regional health security indianexpress. Oil prices jumped roughly 7% to around $108 a barrel after Trump’s speech and the bridge strike, as traders priced in risks to Gulf infrastructure and shipping lanes critical to global supplies ynetnews.

The Bigger Picture

The B1 bridge attack marked the first time in this war that the U.S. openly targeted high-profile civilian infrastructure deep inside Iran, crossing a threshold that legal experts, UN officials and regional governments fear could normalize infrastructure warfare on both sides al-monitor +1. With Trump threatening “bridges next, then electric power plants” and Iran signalling its own focus on regional bridges, the conflict appeared to be shifting toward a contest over economies and civilian lifelines as much as over traditional military targets — a trajectory that could magnify human and economic costs far beyond Iran’s borders if diplomatic off-ramps do not materialize quickly al-monitor +1.

theguardian New York Times; ynetnews The Guardian; al-monitor Reuters; indianexpress Al Jazeera; travelandtourworld RFE/RL; news18 Axios; greatyarmouthmercury Middle East Monitor; torontosun Great Yarmouth Mercury.

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US Airstrike Destroys Iran’s B1 Bridge, Trump Warns of More Attacks Ahead

Was the B1 Bridge a Military Target or a Civilian Symbol?

Escalation Risks as Iran Threatens ‘Bridge-for-Bridge’ Retaliation

The Bigger Picture