Significant sections of the B1 Bridge are seen destroyed after an airstrike attributed to the United States and Israel targeted the site near Tehran, in Karaj, Iran.

Photograph: Getty Images

Apr 6th 2026|6 min read

FOR THE first month of their war on Iran, America and Israel mostly spared civilian infrastructure. The second month began differently. On April 2nd, as families picnicked in a nearby valley, America damaged the B1, Iran’s tallest bridge. (Iranian drones struck a Kuwaiti oil refinery in response.) Days later Mr Trump first threatened to obliterate more bridges and power plants, then warned that “a whole civilisation will die” unless Iran eased its blockade on the Strait of Hormuz.

Signage for Mizuho Bank Ltd., a unit of Mizuho Financial Group Inc. (MHFG), at one of the bank's branches in Tokyo, Japan.

As Iran’s civilian economy crumbles, its military economy grows stronger