📝 🇺🇸 🇮🇷 The United States has struck several bridges and railroads in southern Iran since CTP-ISW's last data cutoff in order to disrupt supply routes to Bandar Abbas, Hormozgan Province, according to a senior US official speaking to the Wall Street Journal. Bandar Abbas is a port city that hosts the IRGC Navy First Naval District and numerous other naval facilities.

Iran struck critical infrastructure in Kuwait on July 17, possibly in response to recent US strikes on bridges in Iran and to deter the United States from conducting strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure. The Kuwaiti Electricity, Water, and Renewable Energy Ministry announced that an attack, which it attributed to “Iranian aggression,” damaged several power generation units at an unspecified power and water desalination plant on July 17.

Iran attacked US targets in Bahrain, Jordan, Qatar, and Oman on July 16 and 17 as part of Iran’s ongoing effort to impose costs on US allies and partners in the region and discourage them from supporting US efforts to undermine Iranian control of the strait. Iran targeted US assets in Oman that support US operations in the Strait of Hormuz, likely to try to degrade the United States’ capability to operate around the strait.

Iran also attacked a former US base in Syria on July 17, likely to deter the Syrian government from undertaking any serious operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon. The IRGC said that it targeted a US special operations command center at al Tanf Garrison in the Syrian Badia in retaliation for the killing of Iranian soldiers in Iranshahr, Sistan and Baluchistan Province.

Iran is continuing to use force and the threat of further attacks to impose its control over the Strait of Hormuz. Iran targeted a Thai-flagged vessel in the strait on July 17.

https://www.criticalthreats.org/analysis/iran-update-evening-special-report-july-17-2026