Newly obtained images provided by active-duty US military personnel to CBS News, the US partner of the BBC, have brought to light widespread destruction at multiple American military installations across the Middle East inflicted by Iranian strikes. The undated photographs, which have not yet undergone independent verification by the BBC, document shattered infrastructure, destroyed military hardware, and damaged buildings at US sites in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.
One of the most striking images captures a Boeing E-3 Sentry airborne early warning and control aircraft at Prince Sultan Air Base, located roughly 100 kilometers southeast of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The plane, a critical long-range threat detection platform for the US military, has been split cleanly in two, with its tail section crumpled into a mangled heap of twisted metal. BBC Verify had previously confirmed a matching image of the same radar aircraft circulating in March, when a US official confirmed to Reuters that an Iranian strike on the base wounded 12 US personnel, two critically.
Further images from Camp Buehring, Kuwait, show flattened travel trailers, a large temporary structure torn to shreds, and thick smoke billowing from the damaged site. At another Kuwaiti base, Camp Arifjan, a photograph captures visible structural damage to a four-story building. Damage to the camp, including to satellite communications equipment, was initially reported in March, though it remains unconfirmed whether this image documents the same attack.
The release of these images comes one day after the Pentagon’s independent watchdog published a damning official report confirming that hundreds of buildings and structures across US bases in seven Middle Eastern nations—Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Oman, and Jordan—have been damaged or destroyed by Iranian strikes since the outbreak of the ongoing conflict. The report quantifies the financial toll of the attacks, putting total equipment losses at $3.7 billion (£2.8 billion). It also notes that dozens of US aircraft have been destroyed or damaged in the months since the war began, including five refueling planes that were damaged or destroyed on the ground in Saudi Arabia by Iranian munitions. Overall, the report calculates that the US has spent $33.4 billion (£24.7 billion) on the conflict through June 29.
An anonymous active military source speaking to CBS News emphasized that the scale of the damage to US bases has not been disclosed to the American public, saying, “We’re standing there with our eyes closed getting punched in the face.” Requests for comment from the White House and US Central Command have not yet been answered.
The conflict between the US and Iran began on February 28 when the US and Israel launched joint military strikes on Iran. Since that time, Iran has repeatedly retaliated with attacks on US bases across the Gulf region and on Israeli territory. Growing public and political pressure has forced the White House to address calls for an end to hostilities. On Tuesday evening, the US House of Representatives passed its third bill aimed at ending US military involvement in the conflict, approving a measure that would compel President Donald Trump to cease all US military action without prior congressional authorization. The bill passed with support from multiple Republican lawmakers, and is expected to be the final House vote on the issue before November’s US midterm elections.