US Military Suffered More Damage in Iranian Attacks Than Claimed, American Newspaper Reveals

Some Gulf countries did not allow the US military to launch offensive operations from their bases, report says.

According to a report published by the American newspaper The Washington Post, the United States suffered far greater damage to its military installations in the Middle East from Iranian attacks than previously claimed by the US government. Satellite images supporting these findings have also emerged.

The analytical report based on satellite imagery stated that since the beginning of the conflict across the Middle East, Iranian airstrikes targeted American military facilities, destroying or damaging at least 228 structures and installations. These included hangars, barracks, fuel depots, aircraft, and critical radar, communication, and air defense equipment.

The report said the scale of damage was significantly higher than what the US government had publicly acknowledged or what had previously been reported.

Citing American officials, the report stated that Iranian air attacks had made several US military bases in the region extremely dangerous for normal military operations. Commanders frequently relocated personnel away from the range of Iranian fire.

A military statement revealed that following attacks on Iran on February 28, seven US military personnel were killed — six in Kuwait and one in Saudi Arabia. By late April, more than 400 troops had reportedly been injured, with 12 listed in critical condition.

The report further explained that obtaining satellite imagery of the Middle East had become unusually difficult because the US government allegedly asked two commercial satellite imagery companies to restrict, delay, or indefinitely withhold images from the region. The ongoing conflict also made it difficult to assess Iranian retaliatory strikes, and these restrictions reportedly began less than two weeks after the war started.

The newspaper said Iranian state news agencies began publishing high-quality satellite images on their social media accounts showing destruction at US installations.

The report stated that analysts compared Iranian satellite images with lower-resolution imagery from the European Union satellite system and high-resolution images received from satellites. The Iranian images were found not to be fake.

During analysis of planetary imagery, researchers reportedly identified 10 additional damaged locations not shown in the Iranian images. Overall, 217 structures and 11 pieces of military equipment were damaged, while 15 American military installations across the region suffered destruction.

Experts concluded that the damage indicated the US military had underestimated Iran’s strike capabilities and failed to adapt adequately to modern drone warfare. Several bases were reportedly not properly fortified.

The report also said that satellite imagery received between the start of the war and April 14 revealed additional targets had been struck. These facilities were heavily used by the US military but were also shared with host nation forces and allies.

According to the analysis, the damage from aerial attacks affected more than half of US facilities, including key barracks, hangars, and warehouses.

The Washington Post reported that at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, a satellite communications installation was hit. Patriot missile defense systems at Riffa and Isa Air Bases in Bahrain and Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait were also targeted. A satellite dish at the Naval Support Activity Bahrain — headquarters of the US Fifth Fleet — was struck as well. In Kuwait’s Camp Buehring, a power plant and five fuel storage bladders at three bases were reportedly hit.

The report stated that Iranian images also showed previously reported destruction or damage to radomes (protective radar structures) at Kuwait’s Camp Arifjan and Ali Al Salem Air Base, as well as at the US Fifth Fleet headquarters. Missile defense radars, Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) systems, and related equipment were reportedly damaged at Jordan’s Muwaffaq Salti Air Base and two sites in the United Arab Emirates. Another satellite communications site at Qatar’s Al Udeid Air Base was damaged, along with an E-3 command-and-control aircraft and a refueling tanker at Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia.

According to the newspaper, more than half of US losses occurred at the Fifth Fleet headquarters and three Kuwaiti bases — Ali Al Salem Air Base, Camp Arifjan, and Camp Buehring. Camp Arifjan serves as the regional headquarters for the US Army.

The report also revealed that some Gulf countries did not permit the US military to conduct offensive operations from their bases. One US official said bases in Bahrain and Kuwait were among the hardest hit because they had allowed attacks to be launched from their territory, including the use of the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS), which can strike targets up to 310 miles away.

The Washington Post concluded that its assessment represented only a partial estimate of the damage based on available satellite imagery.