Iranian attacks destroyed or damaged hundreds of buildings and other structures at U.S. military bases across the Middle East during the first months of the war, according to a new government report that provides one of the clearest assessments yet of the toll Iranian strikes inflicted on American forces and facilities.
The damage stretched across U.S. bases in eight countries — Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Oman and Jordan — according to the report from the lead inspector general overseeing Operation Epic Fury. Dozens of U.S. military aircraft were also damaged or destroyed.
The findings offer a striking measure of Iran’s ability to hit U.S. installations despite the deployment of extensive American and allied air defenses across the region. During the conflict, Iran and its proxies launched thousands of missiles and one-way attack drones at U.S. bases, ships and other targets. Regional defenses intercepted more than 6,000 drones and 1,500 ballistic missiles, according to the report.
The extent of the damage may be greater than the report suggests. The report formally covers the period only through June 30, meaning its principal accounting does not encompass the renewed heavy fighting that followed in July and subsequent months. The report itself notes that Iran attacked three ships in the Strait of Hormuz on July 7, prompting heavy U.S. counterstrikes, and that U.S. Central Command resumed daily strikes against Iran within days.
The report also underscores the scale of aircraft losses. Among those listed were four F-15E fighters destroyed, an F-35A damaged by enemy fire, an A-10 destroyed after sustaining damage, seven KC-135 refueling aircraft damaged or destroyed and as many as 30 MQ-9 drones lost under various circumstances. Some aircraft losses were not caused by Iran, including three F-15Es destroyed by friendly fire and several helicopters destroyed by U.S. forces after they could not be recovered.
The financial cost is also substantial. The Pentagon estimated Operation Epic Fury had cost $33.4 billion as of June 29, including $22.3 billion in expended munitions and $3.7 billion in equipment losses. That figure, however, does not include the cost of repairing damaged military infrastructure, meaning rebuilding hundreds of damaged or destroyed structures could push the eventual total significantly higher.
American diplomatic facilities were hit as well. U.S. facilities in Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the UAE sustained an estimated $184 million in damage, with Iraq accounting for roughly $157 million. The U.S. mission in Iraq alone experienced more than 600 attacks during the reporting period.
The report paints a picture of U.S. forces repeatedly adapting to the Iranian threat, dispersing personnel, aircraft and supplies and moving logistics operations as bases came under attack. More than 50,000 U.S. service members were deployed across the region in support of the operation.
