.png)
As reported by Jared Szuba of Al-Monitor, Iran's government blamed both the United States and Israel for Thursday's airstrikes, which also destroyed part of the prestigious Pasteur Institute of Iran, a leading medical research college in Tehran that has operated for over a century.
The strike on the B1 bridge, located approximately 22 miles northwest of the capital, came just hours after President Donald Trump openly warned he would order the US military to target civilian infrastructure if Iranian leaders refuse to negotiate an end to hostilities. Two US officials confirmed to Al-Monitor that the American military carried out the bridge strike, with one claiming it "eliminated a planned military supply route for sustaining Iran's ballistic missile and attack drone force."
However, both officials denied US involvement in the attack on the Pasteur Institute, pointing instead to Israel.
Trump praised the bridge attack on social media: "The biggest bridge in Iran comes tumbling down, never to be used again — Much more to follow!" He urged Iranian leaders to "MAKE A DEAL BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE AND THERE IS NOTHING LEFT."
The escalation underscores a growing strategic dilemma for Washington. Five weeks into the war, US Air Force and Navy pilots have struck more than 12,500 targets, sinking virtually all of Iran's conventional navy and destroying its air force. Yet Tehran continues to resist, preserving asymmetrical capabilities including attack drones and fast boats while attempting to outlast the campaign.
With hard military targets dwindling under daily bombardment, Trump has repeatedly threatened to widen the scope of attacks. In a televised address Wednesday evening, he warned: "If there is no deal, we are going to hit each and every one of their electric generating plants very hard and probably simultaneously."
Trump has set an April 6 deadline — already extended twice — for Iran to cease attacks on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz or face widespread strikes on civilian infrastructure including electrical grids and desalination plants.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reinforced the administration's posture, telling reporters: "If Iran is not willing, then the United States War Department will continue with even more intensity."
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine confirmed the military had begun striking "research facilities deep within Iranian territory," suggesting connections to Iran's nuclear enrichment program. When pressed on the legality of targeting desalination plants, Caine deflected, calling the US military "the most professional force in the world" that always strikes "lawful targets."
The humanitarian toll continues to mount. The Red Cross reported Thursday that more than 1,900 people have been killed and over 21,000 injured since the campaign began on February 28, warning that medical supplies for trauma cases could run dangerously low.
Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei condemned the strike on the 105-year-old Pasteur Institute as "not merely another war crime" but "a barbaric assault on basic human core values."
As the April 6 deadline approaches, the bridge strike may represent merely a preview of a far more devastating phase of the conflict — one that could reshape the boundaries of America's rules of engagement and draw intense international scrutiny over the targeting of civilian infrastructure in wartime.
Illustration: Perplexity