Iran strikes hit US military bases across West Asia more widely than reported: WaPo

Iranian airstrikes have caused far wider damage to the US military facilities across West Asia than Washington has publicly disclosed, according to an analysis based on satellite imagery.

The Washington Post reports that 228 structures and pieces of equipment across 15 US bases have been damaged, including 217 buildings and 11 military assets.

Damage is reported across key US positions, with more than half of the destruction concentrated at the 5th Fleet headquarters in Bahrain and several bases in Kuwait, according to the American daily.

A US official told the Post that the Bahrain and Kuwait sites were heavily targeted, likely due to their operational exposure to attacks launched from nearby areas.

The analysis said the strikes destroyed Patriot air defence systems in Bahrain and Kuwait, a satellite communications dish at Naval Support Activity Bahrain, as well as THAAD radar systems in Jordan and the United Arab Emirates.

At Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia, an E-3 Sentry command aircraft was destroyed after being repeatedly parked on an unprotected taxiway, alongside the loss of a refuelling tanker, the report added.

Damage at Naval Support Activity Bahrain has been described by US officials as “extensive”, forcing relocation of the 5th Fleet headquarters to MacDill Air Force Base in Florida, with some officials suggesting US forces may not return to regional bases in large numbers.