Iranian air strikes have caused much more destruction to American military sites in the Middle East than American officials have publicly acknowledged. This is according to an analysis of satellite images by the "Washington Post".
228 damaged structures and equipment at 15 American bases have been documented, including 217 buildings and 11 military assets.
The scale of the destruction is much greater than what the United States has publicly disclosed, the publication specified. The White House has not yet commented on the findings.
More than half of the damage was caused to the 5th Fleet headquarters in Bahrain and three bases in Kuwait. A US official told the newspaper that those locations were hit hard, possibly because they allowed attacks from their territory.
The strikes destroyed Patriot missile defense systems in Bahrain and Kuwait, a satellite dish at the Bahrain Naval Support Area and THAAD radar systems in Jordan and the United Arab Emirates.
An E-3 Sentry command and control aircraft was destroyed at Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia after repeatedly being deployed on an unprotected taxiway. A refueling tanker was also lost.
The damage to the Naval Support Area was "significant", a US official confirmed. He noted that this has forced the 5th Fleet headquarters to move to MacDill Air Force Base in Florida. Two other officials said the forces may never return to regional bases in large numbers.