Iranian strikes caused widespread damage to US bases across region: CBS

Newly obtained photographs reveal extensive damage to US military bases across the Middle East from Iranian missile and drone attacks, including destroyed aircraft and demolished facilities, according to a CBS News report published on Tuesday.

Aircraft and buildings destroyed

The images provided by active-duty service members show a severed Boeing E-3 Sentry aircraft at Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia alongside battered barracks and concrete barriers at Camp Buehring in Kuwait. "This is major damage to our bases that hasn't been communicated to the American public," one deployed service member told the network. "We're standing there with our eyes closed getting punched in the face," the service member added.

Equipment losses mount

Other photographs from Prince Sultan Air Base depict heavily damaged buildings and concrete T-wall barriers designed to protect against mortar fire and grenades. The imagery emerged as the US Defense Department's inspector general estimated equipment losses from the Iran war at up to $3.7 billion, including nearly 60 aircraft, in a mandatory report to Congress.

'Not defending these bases'

US Central Command reported Iranian strikes on American positions in Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Oman and Jordan, according to the inspector general's findings. "These are not 'squirters' getting through," the service member said, referring to terminology used by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth following a March 1 attack on Kuwait's Port of Shuaiba that killed six US troops.

The Pentagon did not respond to CBS News' request for comment on the disclosed images. "We're not defending these bases. We're just watching them get destroyed," the service member added.