Sunday, July 19, 2026

Washington - Agencies:

The United States has intensified its bombing campaign against Iran, carrying out continuous strikes over the past week targeting several bridges in an attempt to cut supply routes to the port of Chabahar, Iran's only port on the open ocean.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Chabahar port handles 90% of the country's container traffic, and that Iran uses these facilities to launch attacks on ships, according to a senior US official.

Axios quoted a US official as saying the military bombed at least seven bridges near the city of Bandar Abbas, which serves as a hub for Revolutionary Guard operations in the Strait of Hormuz. He added that ammunition, supplies, and reinforcements pass through Bandar Abbas to other areas of the strait.

US and Israeli officials revealed that the Donald Trump administration informed Israel of its intention to send dozens of additional refueling aircraft in preparation for a potential expansion of military operations against Iran, as the US president considers escalation options that could include strikes on Iranian infrastructure and nuclear facilities.

According to Axios, the options under consideration include bombing infrastructure facilities in Iran, such as power plants, launching further attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities with the aim of burying enriched uranium stocks deeper underground, as well as striking the underground Pickaxe Mountain site, suspected to be a facility under construction.

A knowledgeable source revealed that flight tracking data showed the United States is redeploying fighter jets from Europe to the Middle East.

For his part, Mohsen Rezaei, the military adviser to Iran's Supreme Leader, said the armed forces may have to change their strategy and activate their ground capabilities if the United States continues what he described as its 'miscalculations', as he put it.

He added, according to the Tasnim news agency, that Iran plans to deliver what he called a 'final blow' to those it considers aggressors, claiming that Tehran used the ceasefire period over the past months to identify and address its weaknesses, rebuild its capabilities, and strengthen its power.

The Iranian Tasnim news agency quoted a knowledgeable source as saying that a ship flying a Thai flag was targeted in the Strait of Hormuz on Friday after ignoring warnings and attempting to pass through the strait without permission from the Revolutionary Guard navy.

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