Iran’s strikes on US military facilities across the Middle East caused far greater damage than American authorities had previously acknowledged publicly. That is the conclusion reached by The Washington Post following an analysis of satellite imagery.
According to the newspaper, at least 228 facilities and pieces of equipment at 15 American bases and military sites across the region have been damaged or destroyed since late February. The reported losses include barracks, hangars, fuel depots, radar systems, communications and air-defense infrastructure, as well as aircraft and base facilities.
The paper notes that some of the sites had already been deemed too vulnerable to attack at the start of the war, prompting the United States to withdraw a significant portion of its personnel.
The Washington Post reviewed more than 100 satellite images published by Iranian media outlets and said it found no signs of manipulation.
Among the hardest-hit locations, the newspaper highlights the headquarters of the US Fifth Fleet in Bahrain, along with Ali Al Salem Air Base, Camp Arifjan, and Camp Buehring in Kuwait. At Ali Al Salem, fuel storage tanks, components of Patriot systems, and radar domes were reportedly damaged or destroyed. At Camp Buehring, the strike hit a power station, while satellite imagery from Camp Arifjan showed destruction to barracks and technical infrastructure belonging to the US Army’s regional headquarters.
The publication also reports strikes on Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, where satellite communications centers were reportedly hit, as well as on facilities in Bahrain, where antennas and equipment linked to the Fifth Fleet headquarters sustained damage.
According to the newspaper, elements of the THAAD missile-defense system were damaged at bases in Jordan and the UAE. At Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia, satellite images reportedly captured damage to an E-3 Sentry airborne early warning aircraft and an aerial refueling tanker.
The Washington Post separately emphasizes that the strikes also affected troop accommodation facilities. According to the paper, the images show damage to dormitories, gyms, dining halls, and residential quarters.
“The Iranian attacks were precise. There are no random craters indicating missed strikes,” former US Marine Corps colonel Mark Cancian told the newspaper.
Several American officials told The Washington Post that some bases in the region may never return to their previous level of operations. One source described the damage to the US Fifth Fleet headquarters in Bahrain as “extensive” and said some of its functions had been temporarily relocated to Florida.