US President Donald Trump meets with Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi in the Oval Office of the White House on Tuesday (local time). [UPI]
US President Donald Trump meets with Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi in the Oval Office of the White House on Tuesday (local time). [UPI]

Armed conflict between the United States and Iran entered its second week Friday, with US airstrikes expanding in scope and tensions reaching a new peak.

According to AFP and Iranian state media, US forces carried out overnight airstrikes early Friday targeting Iranshahr Airport in southern Iran, a railway station in the major port city of Bandar Abbas, and two bridges near the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran's state broadcaster IRIB said via its Telegram channel that three powerful explosions were heard near the airport and that at least one US projectile struck Iranshahr Airport directly. The Mehr News Agency reported that the Bandar Abbas railway station was also hit, wounding at least two people. The destruction of two bridges in Hormozgan Province left two people dead and four others injured.

The conflict has escalated into a physical confrontation over control of the Strait of Hormuz. The US signed an MOU with Iran last month to pursue a diplomatic resolution but showed signs of abandoning that approach this month and shifted to a harder line. After Iran attacked a merchant vessel that had strayed from a designated route through the strait, the US launched large-scale airstrikes on southern Iran over two days beginning July 8, holding Tehran responsible.

Iran retaliated by striking US military bases in Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain, prompting the US to dramatically expand its bombing campaign inland from Saturday, citing Iran's additional attack on a Cyprus-flagged container ship passing through the Strait of Hormuz. Some foreign media outlets have reported that US strikes have already reached the outskirts of Tehran and deep into the country's interior.

As US military pressure intensifies, anti-American propaganda has flooded the streets of Tehran, fueling calls for retaliation.

According to Britain's Daily Telegraph, a large billboard depicting US President Donald Trump lying in a black coffin was erected in Enghelab Square in central Tehran. The display carried the message "We will kill Trump" in both Persian and English.

At Palestine Square, a mural appeared showing coffins draped in American flags against a backdrop of the White House, with portraits of Trump's family members — Melania, Ivanka and Eric — hanging above them. The mural bore the inscription "Blood for blood," reflecting the rising fury within Iran.

The hawkish sentiment has grown stronger since the funeral of Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, the former supreme leader killed in a US airstrike. Ayatollah Mojtaba, who succeeded his father as supreme leader, issued a written message shortly after the funeral formally pledging "blood revenge" against the United States, amplifying the voices of hardliners within Iran's leadership.


shee@heraldcorp.com