BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 29. Iran plans to restore and reopen the “B1” bridge in Karaj, Alborz Province, which was damaged in U.S. and Israeli airstrikes on April 2, within less than a year, Ammar Izadyar, an official with the Karaj City Islamic Council, said.
Speaking at the Council meeting he noted that the reconstruction project is expected to require around 30 trillion rials (approximately $20.6 million).
“Once the financing agreement is finalized, the bridge is expected to be restored and reopened within less than a year,” he said.
Izadyar said the reconstruction would involve certain structural modifications, including the use of steel components. He added that the bridge’s main supports remained intact following the strikes, while only two pillars suffered minor damage that can be repaired.
The Iranian official also said that a section of the northern highway extending to the Karaj–Qazvin motorway is expected to be completed by the end of the current year.
According to Iranian authorities, the “B1” bridge was previously considered the largest bridge in the Middle East. Construction began in 2016, and the bridge had been scheduled to open this year. The structure is approximately 1 kilometer long and 136 meters high, and was built to help ease traffic congestion between Tehran and Karaj.
Meanwhile, as no tangible progress was made in the nuclear negotiations between the U.S. and Iran, the situation escalated on February 28, when the United States and Israel launched military airstrikes against Iran. In retaliation, Iran initiated missile and drone strikes targeting Israeli and U.S. installations in the region. Following these developments, a two-week ceasefire agreement was brokered on April 7 through Pakistan's mediation.
A peace memorandum was signed between Iran and the U.S. on June 18. The memorandum was signed by Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and U.S. President Donald Trump. The memorandum came into effect on June 19.
Meanwhile, the latest escalation in U.S.-Iranian relations began on July 8. On that day, for the first time since the signing of the memorandum between Washington and Tehran, the U.S. military carried out several waves of strikes on Iranian territory, claiming that this was in response to an attack on a merchant ship in the Strait of Hormuz. On the same day, U.S. President Donald Trump announced the end of the ceasefire with Iran. In response, Tehran began attacking U.S. facilities in Bahrain, Jordan, Qatar, Kuwait, the UAE, and Oman.
