Iran (IMNA) _ The special report, covering the period from February 28 through June 30, said Iranian strikes damaged or destroyed hundreds of buildings and structures at US military bases in Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Oman and Jordan, citing communications with US Central Command (CENTCOM).
The report also acknowledged that key US munition stockpiles were depleted during the conflict. It noted that earlier attacks had destroyed critical military assets, including missile-defense radar installations.
According to the assessment, Iranian strikes forced CENTCOM to change the way US forces operated across the region. The command “shifted personnel, assets and storage facilities” in response to attacks by Iran and allied forces.
One of the changes was the withdrawal of US Army medical evacuation helicopters from Iraq and Kuwait. As a result, the report said, most medical evacuations were conducted by ground to local medical facilities.
The destruction of the US Navy's regional hub in Bahrain also created “significant challenges” for establishing adequate naval bases and support ports, according to the inspector general. In response, the US military converted the remote Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia into a sea logistics hub, extending resupply cycles to between 14 and 18 days.
Intermittent shortages of supplies, together with disruptions to the US military's regional mail system, further complicated the deployment of American forces to the Persian Gulf in support of air raids on Iran and, more recently, efforts to blockade Iranian ports.
The report warned that some changes to the US military presence in West Asia could become permanent. American military and intelligence officials have discussed the possibility of long-term reductions in personnel and facilities across the region following the war.
The assessment, prepared jointly with the inspector general offices of the US State Department and the US Agency for International Development, also examined damage to US diplomatic facilities.
According to the report, Iranian retaliatory attacks caused approximately $184 million in damage to US diplomatic facilities in West Asia. The assessment did not provide an estimate of the damage to US military installations.
In early March, two Iranian drones struck the US Embassy compound in Riyadh, causing extensive damage, including damage to a CIA facility located at the compound. Around the same time, another drone targeted the US consulate in Dubai and damaged a utility building.
The US Embassy in Kuwait completely suspended operations in March after being struck and damaged by Iranian drones. It resumed emergency operations for US citizens in late June.
More than 600 attacks were reported against US facilities in Iraq, according to a senior State Department official cited in the report. The attacks caused approximately $157 million in damage, making Iraq the most costly location in terms of diplomatic losses.
The report said that between February 23 and June 30, as many as 3,500 US diplomatic personnel were outside the region, while most US diplomatic posts were operating under authorized or ordered departure measures.
Within weeks of the outbreak of the war, the US State Department ordered the departure of non-emergency personnel and all family members from Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE as attacks on US diplomatic facilities intensified.
Most US diplomatic posts in the region remain under “restricted operations,” meaning staffing levels have not returned to normal.
Earlier reports also indicated that multiple US military aircraft were damaged during Iranian retaliatory strikes on the Muwaffaq Salti air base in Jordan.
The United States and Israel launched their war against Iran on February 28. Forty days later, on April 8, they accepted a ceasefire amid Iran's resistance, retaliatory operations and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
In July, the United States carried out waves of air raids against Iran and imposed a naval blockade on the country, in violation of the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding signed with the Islamic Republic on June 17 to end the war.
In response, the Iranian Armed Forces carried out strikes against strategic US targets across West Asia and declared the Strait of Hormuz closed to all traffic.
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