Train services have resumed along a critical international transit route in Iran days after a US air strike damaged a key railway bridge, Al Jazeera reports.

According to local news outlet SNN, the Aqqala bridge in Golestan province is fully operational again following rapid repair. Iranian officials have frequently described it as the country’s “most important transit corridor”, serving as a central link between Tehran and the northeastern border towards China and Turkmenistan.

The Iranian daily Kayhan reported the route is used for the movement of Russian cargo and the railway line has also seen a significant surge in traffic from Chinese freight operators. It noted Beijing is increasingly relying on this overland route to bypass volatile shipping lanes since the US-Israel war on Iran.