Alwaght- Since the US-Israeli alliance waged its war on Iran on February 28, satellite imagery and American and international media reports have talked about damages to a number of American bases and other military facilities in the region. However, the scale of damage and destruction published by these outlets is far from similar. Some are confirmed by independent satellites and some others are reported by international media.
1. Headquarters of the Fifth Fleet in Bahrain
The headquarters of the US's Fifth Fleet in the Bahraini capital Manama is ond if the most important American facilities damaged by the Iranian attacks. New York Times on March 3 scrutinized confirmed footages and satellite images,, reporting that one drone struck one of the radomes of the base and destroying at least one another. The newspaper also reported destruction of two satellites communication terminals.
The Associated Press, citing satellite imagery in a March 17 report, also described the destruction of a large building and damage to several radomes at the base.
The Washington Post, in a review published May 6, reported that the Fifth Fleet headquarters, along with three US military sites in Kuwait, accounted for more than half of all identified damage across a survey of 15 American sites.
2. Ali Al Salem Air Base, Kuwait
ABC News and The Washington Post confirmed damage to Ali Al Salem in the war's opening days using satellite imagery.
In a March 4 report, The Washington Post said satellite imagery showed more than 12 structures at Ali Al Salem had been damaged, including at least four aircraft hangars and buildings likely used to store military equipment. Lower-resolution imagery also showed damage to troop housing.
In its May 6 review, The Washington Post also listed Ali Al Salem among the sites where military equipment and infrastructure had been damaged. The paper reported damage to Patriot equipment and other materiel at the base.
In a later development, Anadolu Agency, citing the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), reported that another strike on Ali Al Salem had targeted MQ-9 drone hangars, a communications center, satellite reception equipment and a missile defense radar.
3. Camp Arifjan, Kuwait
The Washington Post reported on March 4 that communications equipment at Camp Arifjan had been damaged or destroyed in a drone attack from Iran. Citing satellite imagery, the paper said the facility's communications equipment had been wrecked.
In the Post's comprehensive May 6 review, Arifjan was again among the American sites whose buildings and equipment had been damaged. The base, along with the Fifth Fleet headquarters, Ali Al Salem and Camp Buehring, was among the locations where a significant share of recorded damage was concentrated.
4. Camp Buehring, Kuwait
The Washington Post also reported on March 4 that a Shahed drone had struck Camp Buehring in northern Kuwait. Video footage showed the drone passing over parts of the base before slamming into it.
In its May 6 comprehensive report, the Post also noted that satellite imagery showed damage to a power plant and other infrastructure at Camp Buehring.
5. US logistics center at Kuwait's Shuaiba Port
The Washington Post reported on March 4 that six American service members killed in a drone attack had been working at a tactical operations center at Shuaiba Port. The center was located in a civilian port in Kuwait, and the building hit was a prefabricated structure with limited protection against airstrikes.
According to the outlet, those six were, at that point, the only American troops whose deaths in Iran's post-war retaliation had been specifically reported.
6. Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar
The New York Times reported on March 3 that satellite imagery showed damage to a satellite communications center at Al Udeid. The imagery indicated the destruction of a structure ringed by satellite dishes and possible damage to a number of the dishes.
The AP, in a March 17 report, said satellite imagery showed damage to a building at the base.
In its comprehensive May 6 review, The Washington Post documented damage to two satellite communications centers at Al Udeid.
The base is considered one of the most important hubs for US military command and control in the region.
7. Prince Sultan air base in Saudi Arabia
The AP reported on March 17, citing satellite imagery, that Iran's strike on Prince Sultan air base had caused damage at the site. An image captured March 15 showed the scars of the damage.
The Washington Post, in its more comprehensive May 6 review, offered further detail, reporting that an E-3 Sentry AWACS aircraft and an aerial refueling tanker at the base had been damaged or destroyed.
8. Muwaffaq Salti air base, Jordan
The Washington Post further reported that THAAD system equipment and radars at Muwffaq Salti base had been damaged. The finding was part of its assessment of recorded damage in the war's first weeks.
The Wall Street Journal reported on September 12 that the July 17 missile strike on the base, which killed three American service members and wounded four others, came after Iran obtained high-resolution satellite imagery of the site. Based on publicly available satellite imagery, the paper observed damage to more than 20 structures across three sections of the base.
9. Al Dhafra Air Base, UAE
The AP, in its March 17 report analyzing satellite imagery from Airbus Defence and Space, said visible damage could be seen at Al Dhafra.
Imagery from March 15 showed a hangar complex in the northwest of the base had been damaged, while another hangar in the southeast had been severely destroyed by fire. The roof of an adjacent hangar was also damaged.
The AP also noted that Al Dhafra typically hosts around 2,000 American troops and has been used in recent years for drone operations and F-35 fighter jets.
10. Patriot systems in Bahrain
The Washington Post, in its satellite review, reported that Patriot equipment at the Riffa and Isa bases in Bahrain had been damaged. The finding was part of the paper's broader survey of damage to American facilities in the region.
ABC News, in a March 18 report, also said an analysis of imagery and video indicated attacks on at least 10 US and allied radar sites in the region. The network stressed, however, that the exact extent of damage at all those sites could not be confirmed.
11. THAAD equipment in the UAE
In its May 6 review, The Washington Post identified damage to THAAD system equipment and radars at two sites in the UAE, in addition to Jordan. This, too, concerns damage to missile defense equipment and should not be interpreted as the "destruction of a base."
12. Bubiyan Island, Kuwait
Bubiyan Island also emerged during the war as one of the locations linked to the movement of American forces.
Reuters reported on April 6 that American forces transferred to Bubiyan came under Iranian attack. Citing a spokesman for the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, the report said satellite equipment and ammunition were targeted.
Reuters also reported, citing Kuwait's Health Ministry, that falling debris from the attack wounded six people in a residential area in northern Kuwait.
Conclusion on scale of damage
The most important independent review of the damage to the American military facilities in the Iranian missile and drone attacks is conducted by The Washington Post on May 6.
The newspaper reported that since the war began on February 28, over 228 buildings of pieces of the facilities in 15 US military sites sustained damage or were fully destroyed. This includes 217 buildings and 11 pieces of facilities and does not mean damage to 228 bases.
To survey this claim, over 100 satellite images published by credible Iranian sources and compared them to some images provided by independent sources, including Copernicus of the EU and Planet Labs. The newspaper reported that I the imagery investigated there were no clues of manipulation.
In the March 4 report of the Washington Post, at least 11 bases and military sites of the US were destroyed by the Iranian forces. But in the comprehensive review of May 6, the number of the American sites with damaged buildings or facilities reached 15.
Taken together, the satellite imagery reviewed by The Washington Post, The New York Times, The AP and ABC News points to damage at satellite communications centers, radomes, Patriot and THAAD systems, aircraft hangars, military aircraft, and a range of buildings and support facilities.
