Dehumanized: Toll mounts in Iran war with strikes on civilian infrastructure

President Donald Trump started the war with Iran with a promise to help free its people from an oppressive regime. Nearly five months later, U.S. forces appear to be bombing the civilian infrastructure those same people depend on.

At least 21 strikes hit or damaged civilian infrastructure across Iran in July — including bridges, railways, telecommunication sites and water facilities — according to data compiled by Armed Conflict Location & Event Data, an independent conflict monitor, and shared with MS NOW. Each incident was documented by news agencies and human rights activists, including state-linked media outlets. Three water infrastructure sites were struck, including at least one desalination plant that supplies drinking water to thousands. Most of the destruction has occurred in southern Iran.

Zahriyannah Mohammadi Karakashian-Jones, an Iranian American, said her relatives in Bandar Abbas — a southern commercial and military hub by the Strait of Hormuz — can no longer evacuate their neighborhood if necessary by road after multiple strikes on nearby roads and bridges. She communicates with her family through messaging apps, but has not been able to reach them in the past four days.

“There's essentially no evacuation route any longer,†she told MS NOW. “It makes me embarrassed to be an American. It makes me angry, especially when you consider that these acts of war are being carried out using my tax dollars.â€

On Wednesday, Trump threatened to expand infrastructure attacks to Tehran.

“From this point forward, any time the Islamic Republic of Iran shoots at a ship in the Strait of Hormuz, whether it be by Missile, Rocket, Drone, or any other device or weapon, the United States will bomb and destroy ONE BRIDGE OR POWER PLANT, including those located next to, or in, the Capital City of Tehran,†he wrote on Truth Social.

Deliberate military action against civilian infrastructure is considered a war crime under international law. A U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss military operations, denied that America's military has intentionally targeted such sites. 

“We are only hitting sites that have military capabilities, so no we are not committing any war crimes,†the official told MS NOW.

Administration officials have defended the strikes by arguing that some structures have dual uses for both civilian and military purposes. The Geneva Conventions permit attacks on such “dual-use†sites only when they offer a “definite military advantage.†Iran has also hit civilian infrastructure in Gulf countries in counterstrikes, including residential buildings and a drinking-water plant in Kuwait last week.

Iranian state media, citing local officials, accused the U.S. of cutting off drinking water to 10,000 people across 20 villages in the Hormozgan province. General Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, in a Senate hearing on Tuesday said he was not aware of water desalination plants “being particular targets,†or reports that desalination plants had been attacked.

“We have a robust process which considers a target — that goes through a system that looks at a variety of considerations, to include what you're alluding to, around both purely civilian or dual-use targets,†Caine said, adding that he has “trust and confidence†in Central Command's assessments. “I've got a lot of lawyers.â€

When asked whether the U.S. was responsible for strikes on bridges, electrical infrastructure or water facilities, the White House did not comment. The Pentagon referred to U.S. Central Command, which has directly disputed at least one attack in the strikes compiled by Armed Conflict Location & Event Data: the reported bombing of a wheat storage facility in Hoveyzeh.

Trump's threat Wednesday is the latest in a monthslong pattern. In March, Trump warned that the U.S. would target electrical plants, bridges and desalination plants in Iran before agreeing to a temporary ceasefire, which both sides have now abandoned. In April, he threatened that “a whole civilization will die tonight†and that he would blast Iran “back to the Stone Ages.â€Â In mid-May, Trump said there “won't be anything left†if Iran does not agree to U.S. terms to end the war.