"Deadline" countdown: US and Israel apply maximum pressure, Iran stands firm, Middle East crisis escalates again

Before the deadline set by U.S. President Trump for Iran arrived, Israel and the United States carried out a large-scale attack for seven days across multiple locations in Iran, including highways and bridges and other civilian facilities, and launched several attacks on the oil export hub of Khark Island. On the same day, Trump posted a threat to Iran on social media, saying, “Tonight, the entire civilization will perish.” On July 7, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps launched the 99th-batch offensive of the “True Promise-4” operation against the United States and Israel.

This is an image taken in Tehran on April 7 showing Iran’s Sharif University of Technology after airstrikes by the United States and Israel. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Shadati

Iran’s infrastructure hit in multiple places

According to a July 7 report by Iran’s Islamic Republic News Agency, the United States and Israel attacked a railway bridge in the city of Kashan, Iran, killing 2 people and injuring 3. On July 7, Iran’s Islamic Republic Broadcasting and Television said that the two sides attacked a bridge outside the city of Qom.

On July 7, the Iranian Red Crescent said that the railway in the Karaj area of Iran was hit. Iranian media said the same day that power supply was cut off in parts of Karaj because transmission lines were shelled.

According to reports from Iranian media, the U.S.-Israel attacks caused multiple stretches of highways in Iran to be closed.

On July 7, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu confirmed that the Israeli Air Force carried out attacks on railways and bridges inside Iran that day. In a video statement, Netanyahu said that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps used these railways and bridges to transport weapons and personnel who carried out attacks against Israel, the United States, and other countries. He said that Israel’s airstrikes against Iran “are continuously increasing in intensity.”

On the same day, the Israel Defense Forces issued a statement saying that it had completed large-scale attacks inside Iran, targeting dozens of infrastructure facilities in multiple regions in Iran.

The U.S. newspaper The Wall Street Journal reported on July 7, citing U.S. officials, that the United States struck more than 50 military targets on Khark Island, Iran’s oil export hub, without affecting oil infrastructure. Separately, according to Iran’s Mehr News Agency, the United States and Israel carried out several attacks on Khark Island, and explosions could be heard on the island.

Trump threatens Iran: “The entire civilization will perish”

On July 7, Trump issued a new threat to Iran, saying, “Tonight, the entire civilization will perish, never to return.”

Trump wrote on social media: “I don’t want such a thing to happen, but it might happen… or maybe some revolutionary miracles will happen—who knows? Tonight, we will witness it.”

On June 6, Trump said at a press conference at the White House that whether fighting with Iran is about to escalate or is nearing its end depends on Iran’s response to the “final deadline” he set for it—20:00 U.S. Eastern Time on July 7 (08:00 Beijing time on August 8).

U.S. Vice President Vance, who is visiting Hungary, said on July 7 that the goals of the U.S. military action against Iran had basically been achieved. He also urged Iran to respond to negotiations before 20:00 U.S. Eastern Time on July 7 (08:00 Beijing time on August 8).

On April 7, at the Prime Minister’s Office in Budapest, Hungary, Hungarian Prime Minister Orban (right) and U.S. Vice President Vance attended a joint press conference. Photo by Xinhua News Agency (by Balogh Dávid)

At a joint press conference with Hungarian Prime Minister Orban in Budapest that day, Vance said that the United States will continue to contain Iran’s weapons production. He warned that the time window for Iran to open negotiations is narrowing.

According to a report by foreign media on July 7, the United States denied that it is considering using nuclear weapons against Iran.

Reuters on July 7, citing an Iranian source, said that Iran refused to reach “any interim ceasefire” with the United States.

The unnamed Iranian official said that Iran set “preconditions” for reaching a “lasting peace” agreement with the United States, including the adversary immediately stopping attacks on Iran, pledging not to attack it again, and compensating for losses. He said that such a peace agreement should allow Iran to charge fees for ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran launches the 99th-batch offensive of the “True Promise-4” operation

On July 7, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps issued a statement warning neighboring countries that “restraint has ended,” saying it will strike the infrastructure of the United States and its allies, and threatening to cut off oil and natural gas supplies from the United States and its allies in the region within the coming years.

According to a July 7 report by Iran’s Fars News Agency, Iran’s armed forces said they attacked power facilities and fuel depots near Dimona in southern Israel, the U.S. Navy maintenance center at Al-Araysh Port in the United Arab Emirates, and the U.S. military radar systems and some buildings at the Ahmad Jaber Air Base in Kuwait.

Citing a statement from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Iran’s Islamic Republic News Agency said on July 7 that the Revolutionary Guard Corps launched the 99th-batch offensive of the “True Promise-4” operation that day, using ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and drones to strike U.S. military bases in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz region, as well as Israel’s military assembly sites and command-and-control centers.

The statement said the offensive was intended to respond to enemy attacks on large petrochemical complex facilities in Iran’s southern Asaluyeh region. “For any act of attacking civilian infrastructure, we will retaliate without hesitation.”

Multiple countries oppose attacks on civilian infrastructure and call for an end to hostilities

On July 7, the chief spokesperson for the EU’s foreign affairs and security policy, Anita Hipper, said at a routine press briefing held in Brussels that the EU opposes any threats and attacks targeting critical civilian infrastructure, and reiterated that a diplomatic solution is the right approach.

When answering a reporter’s question about Trump’s threats to blow up Iran’s power plants and bridges, Hipper said that such attacks could affect hundreds of millions of people across the Middle East and even a wider region, and may lead to further dangerous escalation of the situation.

This is the damage to a highway bridge on Beyk Street in Karaj, Iran, after an airstrike taken on April 3. The bridge was damaged by two airstrikes by the United States and Israel on the 2nd. Photo by Xinhua News Agency

According to a message posted on the website of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on July 7 Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov exchanged views by phone with Abdullah, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of the United Arab Emirates, regarding the ongoing worsening of military and political situations in the Persian Gulf region, and both sides called for an immediate cessation of hostilities in that region.

Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Ansari said on July 7 that the window for resolving the current regional conflict through diplomatic channels is closing rapidly, the situation is approaching the point of “out-of-control escalation,” and continued hostilities do not serve the long-term interests of any country.

Norwegian Prime Minister Støre said on July 7 that Trump’s latest remarks threatening Iran are worrying; the war between the U.S. and Israel against Iran cannot be solved through military means, and diplomatic channels must be pursued. (Compiled reports by Xinhua News Agency reporters; Video: Cao Lanyi, Dong Yale, Liang Junqi, Diao Huilin)