Iran Strikes Caused Billions in Undisclosed Damage to U.S. Middle East Bases: Report

The damage inflicted on American military bases by Iranian retaliatory strikes is significantly more extensive — and costly — than the Trump administration has publicly disclosed, according to a new report citing multiple government sources.Starting on February 28, following the American and Israeli launch of Operation Epic Fury, Iran retaliated by hitting more than 100 targets across 11 military bases in seven Middle Eastern countries. According to U.S. officials and an assessment by the American Enterprise Institute, the destruction spans Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia and is expected to cost billions of dollars to repair, NBC News reported.The attacks struck command headquarters, runways, satellite communications infrastructure, high-end radar systems, and dozens of aircraft. Among the most notable incidents, an Iranian F-5 fighter jet bombed Camp Buehring in Kuwait, marking a rare breach of U.S. air defenses by an enemy fixed-wing aircraft. The U.S. Navy’s regional headquarters in Bahrain also sustained serious damage, while a runway at Qatar’s Al-Udeid Air Base was completely destroyed.Heavy equipment losses were also reported. According to officials, the strikes destroyed at least one fighter jet, more than a dozen MQ-9 Reaper drones, two MC-130 tankers, and four helicopters, while severely damaging several other aircraft and regional air defense systems.During the conflict, 13 U.S. troops have been killed and about 400 wounded, though military officials note that more than 90 percent have since returned to duty. The bases had been largely cleared of personnel prior to the strikes, preventing a much higher casualty count. The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Dan Caine, noted that the United States and its regional partners successfully intercepted more than 1,700 ballistic missiles and drones, meaning only a fraction of the projectiles breached allied defenses.Despite the scale of the destruction, the Pentagon has largely refused to provide detailed battle damage assessments or cost estimates to the public or Congress. Furthermore, the administration requested that private satellite companies withhold orbital imagery of the bases to limit public visibility.“We do not discuss battle damage assessments for operation security reasons,” a Pentagon official said in a statement to NBC. “Our forces remain fully operational, and we continue to execute our mission with the same readiness and combat effectiveness.”Congress is currently considering a supplemental bill that could exceed $100 billion to cover the costs of the conflict and base repairs. AEI estimates infrastructure repairs alone could surpass $5 billion, a figure that excludes the cost of destroyed aircraft and radar systems.

Iran Strikes Caused Billions in Undisclosed Damage to U.S. Middle East Bases: Report

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