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US strikes and Iranian response
The United States confirmed it launched another round of military strikes against Iran, marking the seventh consecutive night of attacks, with US Central Command (CENTCOM) saying the operations were conducted under the direction of the US president.
Roya News reported that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it targeted what it described as US unmanned boat storage facilities in Bahrain as part of the 17th wave of its "Nasr 2" operations, claiming unmanned boats caught fire following the attack.
Roya News also said Iranian state media reported an explosion near the city of Sirik, close to the Strait of Hormuz, with the official IRNA news agency placing the blast at around 11:30 p.m. local time.
In response to the strikes, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the three people killed while crossing a bridge were "completely innocent," adding, "We will never allow their pure blood to be trampled upon."
Roya News further reported that explosions were heard in the southern Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas on the Gulf coast, according to Iranian media reports.
“Zero hour” warnings
Iran’s IRGC Navy warned that American forces were drawing closer to a “zero hour” for an operation against CENTCOM naval units, with Anadolu Ajansı reporting the IRGC said US movements and military equipment were “under the surveillance” of its naval units.
Anadolu Ajansı said the IRGC Navy Command concluded its statement with the warning: “Wait and see.”
The Express Tribune reported that IRGC Aerospace Force Commander Seyed Majid Mousavi said Iranian attacks would continue “until calm returns to the southern coastline and the Strait of Hormuz,” and quoted him saying, “In the system of calculations, the entire territory of Iran — from Tehran to the south — is one and the same.”
The Express Tribune also described CENTCOM’s account that US forces destroyed a surveillance tower at Iran's Shahid Kalantari Port in Chabahar on July 16, calling it part of a maritime surveillance network used by the IRGC along Iran’s Gulf of Oman coastline.
Türkiye Today reported that the IRGC Navy responded to the surveillance tower destruction by saying Iran was monitoring the movements and military equipment of US forces, and it again warned: “Wait and see.”
Infrastructure, ports, and escalation
WANA News Agency said newly released images documented damage from US missile strikes targeting critical infrastructure in Iran’s Hormozgan Province, where six bridges along the Bandar Abbas–Lar axis in Bandar Khamir county were hit and severely damaged.
WANA listed the Geriveh Bridge on the Bandar Abbas–Khamir–Lar route, a bridge past Latidan-Kalmatali village on the return route, and two bridges on the Kahurestan–Lar route as among those struck.
WANA also reported that the IRGC Navy Command issued a sharp warning to US forces in the region, releasing an operational image alongside a statement that the movements and equipment of the American army are under the full oversight of Islamic Republic of Iran naval units.
In parallel, Türkiye Today reported that U.S. forces destroyed a surveillance tower at Iran’s Chah Bahar Shahid Kalantari Port on July 16, and CENTCOM said the strike was intended to protect freedom of navigation in regional waters for all vessels except ships attempting to violate the continuing U.S. naval blockade against Iran.
Roya News added that the IRGC said it shot down a US RQ-11 Raven drone in the Ramshir area of Khuzestan province in southwestern Iran, while the IRGC did not provide further details about when the drone was downed.
