US Central Command said on Thursday night that the latest wave of American strikes against Iran had been completed, marking the sixth consecutive night of strikes against Iran. The campaign keeps widening. Fighter jets, aerial drones and warships launched precision munitions that hit dozens of Iranian military targets, while Iranian state media said five bridges in southern Iran were also hit. Ordinary movement, military infrastructure, and civilian life all sit under the same machinery once the missiles start flying.
The State's Monopoly on Violence
CENTCOM said US forces struck coastal surveillance and air defense sites, military logistics infrastructure and maritime capabilities. It said the attacks were further degrading Iranian military capabilities and holding Iran accountable for recent attacks on commercial shipping. More than 50,000 US service members stationed in the Middle East remain "vigilant, lethal, and ready," according to CENTCOM. That’s the language of a permanent war footing, polished into a press release.
Iranian state media gave a different view from the ground. Mehr, Iran's state news agency, said early Friday morning that three explosions were heard in Chabahar, in southeastern Iran. Tasnim News Agency, which is semi-official, reported an American attack on the Iranshahr airport earlier on Thursday. It said three strong explosions were heard around the airport, where Iranian armed forces are stationed. The same state apparatus that speaks in the name of defense also places armed forces around civilian infrastructure, then counts the damage in official fragments.
Bridges, Roads, and the People Caught Underneath
Tasnim said the Kehvarstan bridge, which crosses the Shur River in southern Iran, is a key transportation route. It said traffic on the Bandar Abbas-Kehvarstan-Lar route has been suspended. That’s the part the military briefings don’t linger on: bridges are not abstract targets. They’re routes people use to move, work, and survive.
IRNA reported that seven people were killed in US attacks on bridges in Bandar Khamir, citing information from the Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences. The report also said US airstrikes hit bridges in Hormozgan province overnight into Friday, including in the Bandar Khamir area on the Strait of Hormuz. The strike list now includes military sites and the connective tissue of daily life. Same campaign. Different wording.
Tasnim denied explosions in the Iranian city of Zahedan, citing on-site investigations in "key locations in the city" that it said showed reports of attacks were untrue. Even the denials come through the state filter, with each outlet trying to control the story of what was hit, what burned, and who gets to name the damage.
Escalation as Routine
The reports described an expanding US airstrike campaign in Iran that included both military targets and bridges in southern Iran. That expansion matters. It shows how quickly a declared campaign against military capability slides into attacks on infrastructure that people depend on every day. The US calls it precision. The people living under it get the consequences.
CENTCOM said the strikes were completed on Thursday night, but the language around readiness makes clear the machinery isn’t standing down. More than 50,000 US service members remain in the region, armed and waiting, while Iranian state outlets tally explosions, suspended traffic, and deaths. The states keep their own ledgers. Civilians get the bill.