‘Blew the hell out of it’: How Iran damaged US bases in Bahrain, Jordan

What the report says

A Bahrain-based US naval facility near Manama has sustained severe damage during months of fighting with Iran, according to comments by acting US Navy Secretary Hung Cao reported by Al Jazeera. Cao said the Navy was weighing options for the base, including repairs, while Admiral Daryl Caudle had earlier said the site would not return to service soon. The facility, the Naval Support Activity Bahrain, had housed the US Fifth Fleet and served as a major logistics hub for American naval operations in the Middle East.

Al Jazeera said open-source imagery and prior reporting indicated the base was repeatedly struck between February and June, with damage reported to the command center and other buildings. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi echoed Tehran’s claim that its forces had hit the Fifth Fleet headquarters and other US-backed sites. The reporting suggests the damage has affected wider US military operations in the region, including support for the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier group.

The article also described strikes on Muwaffaq Salti Air Base near Al-Azraq in Jordan, where Iranian missiles reportedly damaged multiple US aircraft. Jordan said most missiles were intercepted, but CBS News and Iranian statements cited damage to an A-10 attack aircraft and light damage to F-15s. As background, the story places both bases within a broader pattern of Iranian attacks on US facilities across the Middle East since the war began, underscoring the strain on US force posture and air-defense resources in the region.