Bandar Abbas And Qeshm Island BURNING, US Launches New Strikes On IRGC

The U.S. military struck bridges and collapsed a tower at Iran’s most strategic port — and the Pentagon didn’t list them as military targets.

Story Snapshot

U.S. forces hit roughly 90 Iranian military targets on July 16, 2026, focusing on radar, missile, and drone sites along Iran’s southern coast.
Bridges near Bandar Abbas were struck and a tower was collapsed — but U.S. Central Command did not officially classify them as military targets.
Iran declared the Strait of Hormuz closed, with ship traffic dropping to just 21 transits — threatening global oil supplies.
At least 38 people have been killed and more than 400 injured in Iran since the fighting resumed, according to Iranian health reports.

What the U.S. Military Says It Hit

U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said its forces struck about 90 military targets across Iran on July 16 to protect commercial ships and civilian sailors in the Strait of Hormuz. The military listed air defense systems, coastal radar stations, missile and drone storage sites, and naval assets as targets. CENTCOM said the goal was to “impose heavy costs” on Iran for attacking commercial shipping.

Satellite images reviewed by BBC News confirmed damage to Iranian naval sites and missile installations. A U.S. admiral said hundreds of air defense systems, ballistic missiles, and drones had been destroyed through the strikes. The military also reported shooting down four Iranian attack drones that threatened shipping and destroying a ground control station in Bandar Abbas that was preparing to launch a fifth.

Bridges Down — But Not on the Official Target List

Here is where things get murky. The Washington Post reported that U.S. forces struck “more bridges and collapsed a tower” at Bandar Abbas, a key Iranian port city. BBC News independently confirmed a strike on at least one bridge west of Bandar Abbas. The Wall Street Journal reported the bridge strikes were part of a strategy to cut supply routes to Iran’s naval installation on the Strait of Hormuz. Yet CENTCOM’s official list of targets made no mention of bridges.

Iranian state media reported strikes on five bridges near Bandar Abbas, a railway station in Bandar Khamir, and the Iranshahr Airport, with seven people killed. President Trump had publicly threatened to strike “bridges and power plants” if Iran did not negotiate — and France 24 noted those threats may conflict with international law. Whether the bridge strikes were planned military moves or something else has not been officially explained.

The Strait of Hormuz and What’s at Stake

Bandar Abbas sits at the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway through which roughly 20 percent of the world’s oil flows. Iran has used the port to launch drone and missile attacks on commercial ships. CENTCOM said Iran attacked three commercial vessels before the latest round of U.S. strikes began. Analysts have noted that even with Iran’s navy weakened, it can still threaten shipping through small boats, drones, and coastal missile batteries.

🇮🇷 IRAN BEGS CITIZENS TO TURN OFF AIR CONDITIONING AFTER DEVASTATING US STRIKES

Iran’s Energy Ministry is desperately urging citizens to stop using air conditioners after precision US strikes crippled power lines across the sweltering south.
The attacks knocked out electricity…

— Omar ALBlooshi (@OmarBlooshiAE) July 17, 2026

Iran declared the strait closed on July 16, with maritime trackers recording only 21 ship transits — a sharp drop that rattled global energy markets. Iran also struck back, targeting what it claimed were U.S. military sites. Iranian forces have caused an estimated $800 million in damage to U.S.-linked bases across the region since the conflict began. The back-and-forth raises a hard question both conservatives and liberals are asking: is this campaign making things safer, or just making them worse? The American people deserve a straight answer — and so far, the full picture remains incomplete.