Pentagon doing its best to hide destructions caused by Iran
Iran’s retaliatory attacks on the American bases and assets in the Middle East have inflicted huge material and human losses, but Pentagon is trying its best to hide
Iran’s retaliatory attacks on the American bases and assets in the Middle East have inflicted huge material and human losses, but Pentagon is trying its best to hide.
Ten days into the war, the US has admitted the deaths of eight service members while three fighter jets have been lost in mysterious circumstances.
While Pentagon is silent on the actual losses, satellite images and cell phone videos – often shot in defiance of strict wartime censorship laws, make it clear that the damages on the American bases in the Gulf is far more severe than the Pentagon is admitting, Moscow based Russia Today said in a report.
These sources reveal that Iran is engaged in a campaign of precision strikes, aimed at keeping American planes on the ground, and more importantly, crippling the US’ cutting-edge ballistic missile defense network, RT reported.
How many U.S. bases in Middle East?
The US operates a network of 19 permanent and temporary military bases throughout the Middle East, with the largest – Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, hosting 10,000 troops and serving as the forward headquarters for US Central Command (CENTCOM).
The eight permanent US installations are located in Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and as of mid-2025, there are between 40,000 and 50,000 American troops stationed in the region at any one time.
These bases surround Iran from the west and south, and are currently bolstered by the presence of the USS Abraham Lincoln and USS Gerald R. Ford in the Persian Gulf.
These nuclear-powered aircraft carriers have a combined staff of more than 10,000, and carry more than 130 fighter jets.
All of the US bases in the region have been described as “legitimate targets” by the Iranian military, and facilities in six countries have already been hit by Iranian missiles and drones.
Data showing assessment of damages
Data from FlightRadar24 showed a mass exodus of KC-135 Stratotankers from Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia on March 9, 2026 after a combined drone and missile attack the night before, the report said.
A rudimentary calculation by analyst Anusar Farooqui suggests that the US ability to fly missions over Iran has been degraded by 35-50%, Russia Today said.
Iran’s campaign has focused heavily on blinding the US military and crippling its THAAD missile defense network. An Iranian Shahed drone slammed into an AN/TPS-59 radar dome at Naval Support Activity in Bahrain on the first day of the conflict, obliterating the $300 million system. Installed in 2007, the radar was described by Lockheed Martin at the time as “the only 360-degree coverage mobile radar in the world certified to detect tactical ballistic missiles.”
Radar domes were also destroyed at Camp Arifjan and Ali Al-Salem Air Base in Kuwait, and at Al-Dhafra in the UAE, according to satellite images and video footage. At Al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar, a $1 billion AN/FPS-132 early warning radar installation,one of only six worldwide, was hit by an Iranian ballistic missile on February 28, according to Qatar’s defense ministry.
By destroying the radar equipment, Iran has hampered the US and Israel’s ability to track incoming ballistic missiles. The consequences can be seen in Israel, where by March 6, Iranian missiles were hitting Tel Aviv less than three minutes after sirens sounded, instead of the usual eight minutes.
In at least four locations – Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan, Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia, and two Emirati-run bases in the UAE – Iran has hit AN/TPY-2 radar systems linked to US-made Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) batteries. Satellite images show that in Jordan and Saudi Arabia, these $500 million systems were completely destroyed.
An American KC-135 Stratotanker refueling aircraft went down in western Iraq on Friday, with four of the six crew members aboard confirmed to have died, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) has said.
Search-and-rescue operations for the remaining two personnel are ongoing, it added.
CENTCOM said the incident was “not due to hostile fire or friendly fire.” The cause of the crash was not immediately clear.
US, Gulf Censorship and Cover-up
The US has adopted a policy of silence and denial, with the Pentagon refusing to answer press requests. Asked about damage to THAAD stations, the Department of War told CNN that “due to operations security, we are not going to comment on the status of specific capabilities in the region.”
CENTCOM has outright denied that Iran caused “severe damage at multiple US bases”.
Despite satellite images and video footage suggesting otherwise, CENTCOM stated on social media that “damage to US installations was minimal and has not impacted operations.”
Satellite imaging firms Planet Labs and Maxar Technologies have both paused the release of footage from the region. Planet Labs, whose images revealed damage to bases in Bahrain, Kuwait, and Qatar, said that it would place a 14-day delay on new images to “prevent adversarial actors endangering the safety of allied and NATO-partner personnel.”
The Gulf states have taken a more draconian approach, with the UAE threatening fines and jail time for anyone sharing videos of Iranian attacks, and Bahraini prosecutors reportedly seeking the death penalty for recording a video of a malfunctioning US Patriot air defense system hitting a residential area and allegedly killing more than 30 civilians. CENTCOM and the Bahraini government have claimed that an Iranian drone was responsible for the deaths, the RT said in its report.
The United States has confirmed the death of 8 soldiers and injuries to some 140. But, Tehran claims that the true US death toll is significantly higher.
In an interview on March 7, 2026 Iranian Supreme National Security Council Chief Ali Larijani accused US President Donald Trump of “lying” about the casualty count, predicting that the US would “probably later increase the number of deaths gradually under the pretext of accidents or something of the sort.”
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