Watchdog Finds Iran War Damage to US Bases Far More Extensive Than Pentagon Says

By Sharon Zhang

This article was originally published by Truthout

The Pentagon has quietly admitted that Iran has struck hundreds of buildings and structures at U.S. bases across the Middle East in the six months since the U.S. and Israel launched war against the country — damage that is far more extensive than previously acknowledged by Trump administration officials.

According to the Department of Defense Inspector General’s first report on the Iran war released on Tuesday, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) “reported that Iranian strikes damaged and destroyed hundreds of buildings and structures at U.S. bases in Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Oman, and Jordan during the conflict.” CENTCOM provided this information in response to a query by the inspector general’s office.

The military command also reported that “dozens of U.S. aircraft were destroyed or damaged” during the conflict. The report covers the period of the war up until June 30, meaning that more damage may have been done since President Donald Trump unilaterally restarted the war and ended the ceasefire agreement in July.

In July, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth estimated that the war had cost $37.5 billion thus far — far lower than leaked internal estimates reportedly suggested. 

Indeed, the Pentagon watchdog’s report acknowledges that Hegseth’s figure does not encompass costs incurred by the extensive damage done to U.S. bases. Previous reports have said that the losses to U.S. buildings and assets amount to tens of billions of dollars — potentially multiplying the cost of the war if incorporated.

Meanwhile, as of June, the State Department reports that U.S. diplomatic facilities in Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates have been struck by Iran, incurring $184 million in damages. Further, the department reports that the war has incurred $113 million largely in relation to evacuation-related expenses.

The inspector general also reported that the U.S. approved $25.3 billion worth of weapons exports to Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE in relation to emergency declarations made by Secretary of State Marco Rubio since the beginning of the year. 

This includes $7.8 billion worth of weapons sales to Israel between January and June of this year. Despite Israel having largely withdrawn from its active role in the war, reports on Tuesday found that the Trump administration has approved an additional $2.8 billion transfer of deadly 2,000-pound bombs to Israel. That transfer is being paid for by U.S. taxpayers. 

The reports of the extensive damage to U.S. bases come despite the Trump administration repeatedly claiming dominance in the war — with Trump administration officials having said that the war has already been won dozens of times.

On March 3, the fourth day of the war, President Donald Trump claimed that the U.S. and Israel had completely destroyed Iran’s air and naval capabilities in its initial round of strikes. “They have no navy — it’s been knocked out. They have no air force; it’s been knocked out. They have no air detection — that’s been knocked out,” Trump said. Later that week, he also said that the U.S. has destroyed “every plane” in Iran’s air force and depleted “most of their missiles.”

These losses come on top of the casualties among the U.S. military of the war thus far. According to the report, 18 U.S. soldiers have been killed, while 417 have been injured. The Pentagon has faced accusations of covering up these casualties amid uneven and strange reporting practices by the military. The Trump administration has also outright downplayed the deaths; earlier this month, Trump said that the U.S. casualties are “small potatoes” in comparison to past wars.

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