The Iranian Fars news agency reported this morning (Thursday) that the United States carried out a cruise missile attack on a strategic railway bridge in the country. According to reports, the target that was hit is an integral part of the strategic railway corridor connecting China, Turkmenistan and Iran.
This is a significant economic lifeline, which enables trade between Iran and the superpowers China and Russia. Unlike military targets or sensitive government facilities, this is civilian infrastructure designed to support international trade.
This is the second American attack on bridges in Iran this week. Fars reported that the bridge that was bombed earlier was the Ak-Teke Khan Bridge, located on the China-Turkmenistan-Iran railway corridor – a route through which Russia has transported its goods since last November. It was also claimed that following the naval blockade of Iran, the volume of freight train traffic from China on this route has tripled.
The Revolutionary Guards said that two bridges on the way to Mashhad were attacked, where the dictator Ali Khamenei, who was killed on the first day of “Roaring Lion,” is supposed to be buried. According to reports, train traffic between Tehran and Mashhad has been stopped and technical teams have been sent to repair the damage.
A few weeks ago, according to confidential Revolutionary Guard documents that were published on the “Iran International” website after being leaked by the “Prana” hacker group, an international smuggling network exists, designed to purchase chemicals for the production of ballistic missiles while circumventing sanctions. The network was operated by a Chinese company in cooperation with shell companies in Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, with the aim of supplying the Revolutionary Guards with sensitive materials.
The central company in the network is the Chinese energy company “Haokun Energy”, which acts as an intermediary in the sale of Iranian oil to refineries in China and is already subject to US sanctions for funding the Quds Force. According to estimates, the Chinese company owes the Revolutionary Guards over a billion dollars in oil revenues, and is trying to repay its debt by supplying weapons and chemicals for producing rocket fuel.