Bombshell new leaked photos have exposed the extent of serious damage to buildings, aircraft and vehicles at U.S. positions in the Middle East after punishing attacks by Iran.
President Donald Trump’s war is now approaching its seventh month, with no clear timeline for when it may end. The damning photos contradict Trump’s repeated claims insisting that his war with Iran has been “won” and that Iran’s military has been decimated by the U.S.
The photos, leaked to CBS News by active service members on condition of anonymity because of rigid media restrictions within the military, tally with an inspector general’s report released on Monday. In it, the Pentagon watchdog revealed that “hundreds” of buildings used by the U.S. and “dozens” of aircraft had been damaged or destroyed by Iranian attacks.
“This is major damage to our bases that hasn’t been communicated to the American public,” one deployed service member told CBS News. “We’re standing there with our eyes closed getting punched in the face.”
The insider photos include a Boeing E-3 Sentry command and control plane destroyed after Iranian strikes at Prince Sultan Air Force Base in Saudi Arabia on March 27, people familiar with the matter told Air & Space Forces Magazine at the time.
The plane’s tail has been blown off, wiping out a rotating radar used to collect midair intelligence.
The attack injured over 10 service members, two seriously. At the time, the loss of the E-3 was deemed “incredibly problematic” by Heather Penney, a former F-16 pilot and director of studies and research at AFA’s Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, who was quoted by the magazine.
The Prince Sultan base is a critical military hub for the U.S. in the Middle East, and has hosted an array of aircraft used in operations against Iran.
Another leaked, undated photo shows more extensive damage at the site after an Iranian strike, with only the shells of buildings left standing.
Three of the leaked photos, all undated, were taken at Camp Buehring in Kuwait, a major U.S. Army staging and logistics post. The photos show flattened and destroyed buildings left in rubble, one structure seemingly still emitting smoke and the remains of a car after a strike.
Another shows a building at Camp Arifjan, a U.S. Army installation in Kuwait, in ruins after an Iranian strike, with walls and windows blown out and construction material visible.
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment. The Pentagon referred the Daily Beast to Centom when asked for comment, who did not immediately respond.
The inspector general’s report is the first major public accounting of Trump’s war. It states, “Iranian strikes damaged and destroyed hundreds of buildings and structures at U.S. bases in Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Oman, and Jordan during the conflict.”
The report also included a costly inventory of U.S. military losses, including at least four F-15E $30m fighter jets, at least one F-35A prized stealth fighter, up to seven KC-135 aerial-refueling tankers as well as up to 30 MQ-0 Reaper drones and multiple state-of-the-art helicopters.
The IG estimated that the war had cost $33.4 billion as of June 29, including $3.7 billion in equipment losses.
18 U.S. service members have been killed in Trump’s war, which he called “small potatoes” earlier this month.
Trump, 80, was asked about the latest MAGA narrative earlier this month, including from Vice President JD Vance, that it is not a war.
“Well, I’ll tell you what, a lot of people don’t call it a war. I call it a military conflict because it’s, it’s small potatoes for us. It’s not a big thing,” Trump said. “We did Venezuela, and we did this.”
