Third Time's the Charm: US Destroys Chabahar Port Tower Entirely

According to Press TV, Iranian technical and operational teams began damage assessments and secured the site following the strike, and reported that the port's berths, cargo-handling equipment, and other operational infrastructure were not damaged, with cargo loading and unloading expected to resume once safety inspections are complete.

Chabahar is Iran's only major deep-water port with direct access to the Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean, allowing it to bypass the Strait of Hormuz entirely. The port also carries significant importance for India, which has invested in Chabahar as part of the International North-South Transport Corridor, a route intended to give Indian goods access to Afghanistan and Central Asia while bypassing Pakistan. A US sanctions waiver that had previously permitted certain Chabahar-related operations expired in April.

Friday's strikes were not limited to Chabahar. According to the Associated Press, American strikes also hit several bridges in Iran's southern Hormozgan province as Washington's campaign against Iranian coastal, naval, and surveillance infrastructure continued to expand. US Central Command has previously described these strikes as intended to degrade Iran's ability to threaten commercial shipping and civilian mariners in the Strait of Hormuz, following a broader wave of strikes earlier this month that hit roughly 90 Iranian military targets along the country's coastline, including air defense systems, coastal surveillance assets, and naval infrastructure.