In maps and photos: Five Iranian civilian bridges at risk of US strikes

According to Iran’s Bridge Management System (BMS), the country has roughly 300,000 bridges and technical structures. Only about 185 bridges exceed 100m (330ft) in length, and a mere 42 bridges have a main span – the longest unsupported distance between two consecutive pillars – of more than 50m (165ft).

Based on their scale and economic importance, here are five of Iran’s most prominent bridges:
Location: Hormuzgan province
Dimensions: 3.4km (2.1 miles) long
Status: unfinished (15 to 18 percent physical progress)
Background: The Persian Gulf Bridge was a “dream project” for more than 50 years, and ground was broken in 2011. While the bridge remains unfinished due to funding hurdles, its massive underwater foundations and caissons are in place. Once completed, it will connect Qeshm Island – the largest of Iran’s islands in the Gulf, believed to be home to an underground missile arsenal – to Bandar Abbas, Iran’s biggest mainland port.
What is at risk: Even in its current state, the bridge represents an investment of up to $700m and is the centrepiece of the International North-South Transport Corridor, which also includes India and Russia. Targeting its massive concrete foundations would erase decades of national planning and directly strike at Chinese-backed credit lines, in effect killing Iran’s hopes of a direct link to the island from the mainland.