U.S. airstrikes targeting parts of southern Iran have rattled Iranians’ nerves this week, they said in interviews, and destroyed key links between one province and the rest of the country.
Marzieh, a resident of the port city of Bandar Abbas, said that she had heard from friends that the roads around the city had been “devastated.” Marzieh and other Iranians interviewed gave only their first names for fear of government reprisal.
Overnight strikes damaged a tunnel and three bridges, the Hormozgan governor’s office said on Saturday, according to Iran’s state news agency. The government urged residents to avoid unnecessary travel on the roads until further notice. Hormozgan Province, which includes Bandar Abbas, lies along the Strait of Hormuz.
Iranian state media reported overnight that at least six areas had been targeted around the country, including Bandar Abbas, but also Ahvaz, the capital of the oil-rich Khuzestan Province about 500 miles northwest of the strait, as well as Lar and Darab, two inland cities in Iran’s southern Fars province. A water desalination plant in the southern province of Jask was also struck, according to Iranian state television. The U.S. military did not immediately respond to a request for comment on those claims.
By Saturday afternoon, some previously damaged traffic routes hit during the last several days of attacks appeared to have been at least partially restored, with Iranian state media reporting that passenger train traffic had resumed from the Bandar Abbas railway station and the opening of an alternative route to the east of the city.
The U.S. military said its overnight strikes had targeted “surveillance sites, military logistics infrastructure, underground weapons storage and maritime capabilities.” It made no mention of civilian infrastructure, though President Trump has frequently threatened to bombard such sites, including power plants and bridges.
Nightly attacks in Ahvaz have become a familiar pattern, according to Emad, a 34-year-old trader there. “That said,” he added, “some people are still frightened by the explosions, especially those living closer to the targeted areas.”
Emad said that as far as he could tell, the strikes had targeted the city’s southeastern periphery, where there are military bases and installations, rather than its center.
Elnaz, a 30-year-old resident of Ahvaz, said Thursday night had been the worst night since the fighting resumed.
Her friends’ and family’s young children “were especially frightened,” she said. “The blast waves were so close that we thought if we stepped outside, we would find the entire city destroyed.”
Since then, the attacks have not been as severe, Elnaz said, but each night is unpredictable.
“None of us knows what kind of attack will happen once night falls,” she said. “We generally know that the strikes are aimed at military areas, but even bombing those locations is enough for the noise and shock waves to reach us and make our whole bodies shake.”
As is typical in Ahvaz during the summer even in peacetime, there are power outages every day, sometimes lasting more than two hours, she said. During power outages, water is also cut off. Temperatures in the city have reached as high as 120 degrees Fahrenheit this week.
While stores in the city are still stocked, Elnaz said, they are largely empty of customers, because people have little money. Iran’s economy, long in malaise, has gotten even worse during the war, with skyrocketing food prices and companies forced to lay off workers.
The war has simply added to Ahvaz residents’ misery, she said, adding, “The situation has become unbearable.”
