Lawmakers warn US will face
‘dark days’ ------- for killing
innocent Iranians
July 17th, 11:41am
(PressTV)
Iran's armed forces will retaliate for the killing of innocent civilians
in recent US attacks and those responsible ---- will face severe
consequences, warns a senior Iranian lawmaker.
In a post published on X on Friday, MP Ebrahim Azizi condemned US
crimes in southern Iran, pointing to attacks on a school in Minab,
a children's cancer hospital in Ahvaz, a sports hall in Lamerd,
and repeated strikes on residential and civilian areas.
"The enemies of the resilient Iranian nation should know: that
the armed forces will not let the blood of innocent people go
unanswered and will make their days dark," wrote Azizi, the
chair of Iranian Parliament National Security Commission.
He said the attacks reflected "the inability and desperation of
the self-proclaimed defender of human rights" in confronting
"Iran, victorious in the 12-day war & the Battle of Ramadan",
referring to a 40-day US-Israeli war, that began in February.
Azizi also stressed that southern Iran has always stood at the
forefront of defending the country, describing the region as
"the heart ....of all Iranians."
Alaeddin Boroujerdi, a member of the parliamentary National
Security Commission, also said that Iran will continue
strengthening both its defensive and offensive
military capabilities ------- to ensure long-
term deterrence.
According to Boroujerdi, the Axis of Resistance has entered a
new phase of confrontation in which operations against US
interests are no longer confined to the Islamic world... but
extend to supporters of the resistance cause worldwide.
"Regarding the hostile actions by Washington - and statements
by Yemen's Ansarullah leadership, resistance groups consider
themselves entitled to target US interests globally --- and to
block strategic waterways, including the Bab el-Mandab
Strait and the Strait of Hormuz," he said.
He added that resistance forces in Lebanon, Yemen
and Iraq, are prepared to respond ---- decisively.
Boroujerdi noted that the legal closure of the Strait of Hormuz and
the resulting surge in global energy prices ---- will significantly
increase domestic pressure on US President Donald Trump
...ahead of the upcoming elections.
"Although US officials repeatedly claim they are not seeking
a broader war with Iran, attacks on the country's critical
infrastructure --- amount to a full-scale act of war,"
Boroujerdi said.
The lawmaker added that Iran, despite years of sanctions, has
evolved from having no missile capability....... into one of the
world's leading missile powers, and that the country's
military capabilities will emerge even stronger ----
after the latest confrontation.
"Continued upgrades to Iran's air defense network and offensive
capabilities, will provide a lasting deterrence against future
foreign aggression," he said.
The remarks came after overnight US strikes targeted civilian
infrastructure across several Iranian provinces, including
Hormozgan, Bushehr, Sistan and Baluchestan,
Khuzestan and Lorestan.
Iran's Health Ministry said on Friday that at least 38 people
were killed and more than 400 others injured... in the
attacks of the past six days.
The escalation.. followed an incident in which Iran's Navy
prevented unauthorized vessel movements through the
Strait of Hormuz ....which were in violation of the
Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding
signed on June 17.
In response to the strikes, the Islamic Revolution Guards
Corps (IRGC) and the Iranian Army launched multiple
waves of attacks against US military positions
across the region.
_______________________________________________
Iran ---- restores traffic on major roads
within hours after terrorist US strikes
July 17th, 11:21am
(PressTV)
Iran's Road Maintenance and Transportation Organization says all
major road routes across the country remain open and traffic has
resumed on damaged sections ..despite overnight "savage" US
attacks targeting key transport infrastructure in southern Iran.
In a statement on Friday, the organization said road maintenance
crews restored traffic on damaged routes in less than 12 hours
after attacks hit transport infrastructure, including several
bridges in the south of the country.
It said bypasses were rapidly constructed around the damaged
sections, allowing vehicles to resume using the affected roads.
"Despite the enemy's savage attacks on the transportation
infrastructure, all road routes across the country remain
open and traffic is flowing," the statement said.
The announcement came after criminal attacks by the terrorist US
military targeted civilian infrastructure across several Iranian
provinces, from late Thursday ...into early Friday, including
several bridges, killing 8 people and injuring 20 others.
The attacks primarily struck the provinces of Hormozgan, Bushehr,
Sistan and Baluchestan, Khuzestan and Lorestan. They followed
US President Donald Trump's threats --- to target Iran's civilian
infrastructure, including bridges and power plants, amid the
international community's silence over US war crimes.
US strikes kill 38 across Iran, destroy
Chabahar port control tower, bridges
Criminal attacks by the terrorist US Army targeted civilian
infrastructure across several Iranian provinces overnight
and into Friday. Hormozgan Province sustained the
heaviest casualties.
Six bridges in Khamir County were struck, damaging key
transport routes, linking Bandar Abbas, Bandar Khamir
and Lar, and the roads through Latidan, Kahorestan,
Keshar and Maru village.
The strikes also hit a railway branch station in Bandar Abbas,
while a separate attack targeted the Allah Akbar Hill
residential neighbourhood in the city.
The bridge and railway attacks appeared aimed at severing Bandar
Abbas, Iran's largest port, from road and rail links connecting it to
the country's central regions and the capital, Tehran. The strikes
appeared intended to disrupt the movement of goods needed by
Iran's population of around 90 million.
Iran's Health Ministry said on Friday that at least 38 people had been
killed and more than 400 injured --- in the latest US attacks. Forty-
seven people remain hospitalized, according to the ministry.
______________________________________________________________
Iran not to change course, more
likely to harden position: Report
July 17th, 11:23am
(PressTV)
There is "little sign" that Washington's strategy of airstrikes
and military threats will succeed in forcing Tehran to make
concessions, Reuters says, dismissing US President
Donald Trump's renewed military escalation
against Iran.
"Most analysts agree that a major US escalation ... would have
little chance of being any more effective in forcing Iran to
change course than earlier phases" of the war, the
British news agency said on Friday.
It quoted Jonathan Panikoff, a former US deputy intelligence officer
for West Asia, as saying that there is "no reason to believe that
this latest set of attacks, or whatever the president has in
mind, will compel the Iranians to change their thinking."
"It's perhaps more likely to harden their position," Panikoff added.
IRGC strikes US command centre in Syria, radars in
Oman, depots in Kuwaithttps://t.co/iX0N0S0A54
— Press TV (@PressTV) July 17, 2026
According to Reuters, the collapse of the memorandum reached
between Tehran and Washington last month has left Trump
struggling to find a strategy capable of breaking Iran's
control of the strategic Strait of Hormuz ands.
The report says the dispute is no longer limited to Iran's nuclear
program but also centres on control of the Strait of Hormuz,
where Iran demonstrated during the war that it has the
capability to administer the waterway and close it
to its adversaries.
There is little indication Tehran is willing to make the
concessions sought by Washington in this regard,
Reuters added.
Iran, the news agency said, has warned it could expand
the scope of the war if the United States escalates
further, including by targeting civilian facilities
in US-allied Persian Gulf states.
Citing three sources, Reuters said Iran has asked Yemen's
Ansarullah to be prepared to close the Bab el-Mandeb
Strait should the United States strike Iran's power
infrastructure, potentially opening another front
that could threaten global energy supplies.
The report also highlighted growing doubts over the
effectiveness of Washington's pressure campaign.
It cited Danny Citrinowicz, an Iran researcher at Israel's so-called
institute for security studies, as saying that "No matter how
much pressure the administration applies, or how many
new threats it issues, Iran's leadership is unlikely
to capitulate."
"If President Trump continues expanding the targets set,
Tehran --- is likely to respond in kind," Citrinowicz said.
A similar assessment was offered by Pulitzer Prize-winning
journalist and former New York Times Middle East Bureau
Chief, Chris Hedges.
Washington's war against Iran has "ended in a humiliating defeat
for the United States" and instead accelerated "a dramatic shift"
in the balance of power in West Asia and the Global South,
he wrote in an article.
"The end of the US Empire, led by an impetuous
and clueless Donald Trump, is irreversible,"
Hedges added.
Several US tankers and fighter jets were destroyed, while
several others sustained heavy damage in the strikes.
— Press TV (@PressTV) July 17, 2026
Hedges also dismissed the effectiveness of further military
escalation, saying, "A renewed bombing of Iran will not
work," adding that Iran's "mosaic defense strategy
ensures all political and military commanders
are easily replaced."
He said that Iran “holds the cards” over global energy markets.
"Iran can strangle the world economy by closing the Strait
of Hormuz."
Drawing an historical parallel, Hedges described the war - as
"Washington's Suez Crisis," explaining that - while it may
not mark the immediate end of US global dominance,
"it is the beginning of the end."