Trump: US 'winning big' in Iran war

WASHINGTON — There were no signs of slowing in the Middle East as US President Donald Trump claimed his country was "winning big" in Iran during an address to the nation on Thursday.

In his speech on election security, the president said the US is "winning big in Iran and you will see the fruits of that labor very, very shortly".

The comments come as the US expanded its airstrike campaign against Iran early on Friday by hitting bridges as part of a broader attack on the nation's infrastructure to pressure Tehran to ease its chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz.

The US Central Command, or CENTCOM, confirmed completing a new set of strikes on military targets in Iran.

"US forces, including fighter jets, aerial drones, and warships, launched precision munitions that hit dozens of Iranian military targets such as coastal surveillance and air defense sites, military logistics infrastructure, and maritime capabilities," CENTCOM said.

Overnight strikes in the region injured at least one child in Qatar — the second in a week — as Gulf countries continued to repel missiles and drones.

Qatar's Ministry of Interior confirmed in a statement based on its field findings that at least one child was injured due to falling shrapnel from interception operations on July 17. Iran had said 38 had been killed and more than 400 were reported injured in US strikes since June 22, various outlets reported on Friday.

Trump made the comments that the US was "winning" during a primetime address.

For the first few minutes, the president ran through a long list of what he said were his administration's accomplishments, including cutting drug prices.

The speech came as he has escalated his calls for Republicans to pass tighter federal voting rules ahead of November's midterm elections.

He said all US citizens should be assured their elections are free of cheating and interference.

"Unfortunately, the system we have today falls catastrophically short of that standard," Trump said. Trump used the address to justify his push to pass a strict voter ID bill in Congress, saying it is "urgently needed to stop the vulnerabilities that I've mentioned."

Senate Democrat Dick Durbin called the speech "a dangerous attempt to resurrect disproven lies to undermine future elections before a single vote is cast."

During the speech, Trump alleged that "China had interfered in US elections".

China on Friday rejected the accusation, calling it entirely fabricated and a malicious smear.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian told a regular news conference that the allegation had long been proven groundless.

China has always adhered to the principle of noninterference in other countries' internal affairs and has no interest in, nor has it ever interfered in, US elections, Lin said.

By contrast, the international community knows full well who frequently interferes in other countries' internal affairs, indiscriminately conducts long-term surveillance of governments, businesses and ordinary people around the world, and steals foreign citizens' data on a massive scale, he said.

"We urge the US side to reflect on its own conduct, stop making groundless accusations against China, refrain from using China as an issue in its elections, and do more to benefit China-US relations," Lin said.

Media snub

Some networks did not air the US president's speech live.

ABC, NBC and CNN did not air Thursday's remarks live but carried them in full on their streaming services.

CBS and MS NOW both cut away from Trump's speech before he finished, while Fox News continued to carry his address.

Trump called out the media outlets for not carrying it live, accused them of being "part of a plot" and suggested their broadcast licenses be revoked.

During past presidencies, primetime addresses were typically reserved for major milestones or nationally significant events.

Trump last spoke to the nation in April, giving an address on the Iran war a month after it started. He said then that the US would accomplish its objectives "very shortly" and that "the hard part is done, so it should be easy". The conflict, however, has dragged on and strikes between the US and Iran have intensified this week.

Trump also delivered a politically charged primetime speech in December in which he sought to blame the challenging economic climate on Democrats.

Agencies, Jan Yumul in Hong Kong and Zhao Jia in Beijing contributed to this story.