The Israeli military has warned people in Iran not to use trains or approach railway lines, indicating an intent to strike civilian infrastructure before United States President Donald Trump's deadline to open the Strait of Hormuz expires. The Israeli military posted on X in Persian: "For the sake of your security, we kindly request that from this moment until 21:00 Iran time [17:30 GMT], you refrain from using and travelling by train throughout Iran. Your presence on trains and near railway lines endangers your life."

Following the Israeli threats, train travel to and from Iran's second city of Mashhad was cancelled until further notice, according to Governor Hassan Hosseini, quoted by local media. Hosseini said: "Due to the immoral warning of the Zionist regime regarding the attack on the country's railways and in order to exercise caution, all train movements from the Mashhad Railway have been cancelled until further notice." US President Donald Trump had threatened to bomb Iran's bridges and power plants unless Iran reopens the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday at 8pm EST (01:00 GMT Wednesday). Iran, in turn, has threatened "devastating" retaliation if the country's civilian infrastructure is hit.

Earlier, the Israeli military said it had recently completed a new wave of air attacks on infrastructure across the country, including Tehran. According to Iran's semi-official Mehr news agency, a residential building in central Tehran was hit in one of the latest strikes, and a synagogue adjacent to the residential building was also destroyed. Later on Tuesday, an attack on a bridge near the Iranian city of Qom was reported by Morteza Heydari, the deputy governor of Qom province, according to local media, who described it as being targeted by "American and Zionist enemy projectiles." Iran's Ministry of Health says at least 2,076 people in Iran have been killed by US-Israeli attacks since the war began more than five weeks ago.

Amid Trump's threats, an important bridge linking Saudi Arabia and Bahrain was briefly closed to traffic over fears of attacks from Iran, according to reports, with the authority overseeing the King Fahd Causeway stating it had been "suspended as a precautionary measure" due to Iranian attacks targeting Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province. It was later reopened. Since the US-Israel war on Iran began on February 28, Iran has retaliated with drone and missile attacks against Israel, Gulf nations hosting US military assets, along with Jordan and Iraq, exacerbating regional tensions.

The United Nations Security Council is expected to vote on Tuesday on a watered-down resolution calling for the unblocking of the Strait of Hormuz, far from sponsoring the Gulf countries' initial goal of obtaining clearance to use force. A draft seen by AFP no longer mentions authorisation to use force, even defensively. However, Russia, a longstanding ally of Iran, as well as China, could still veto the text, leading to a delayed vote. Iran's blocking of the strait has led to widespread disruption of global energy markets, forcing countries to implement austerity measures to mitigate the impact of skyrocketing oil and gas prices.

Discussing whether Trump would proceed with his threat to obliterate Iran's civilian infrastructure if the strait remains closed, Trita Parsi, vice president of the Quincy Institute, told Al Jazeera the US president allegedly still has the option to extend the deadline without losing face if he sees a diplomatic way out. Parsi added: "One of the benefits Trump has is that, frankly, he doesn't have much credibility, so he doesn't have much to lose. I can definitely see a scenario in which, if he thinks that there is some reason for him to extend the deadline, he would just do so. He's already done so several times in the last 35 days."

Source: www.aljazeera.com