Satellite images show Iran has damaged 20 US military sites across eight Middle East countries

Satellite images and video analysis indicate that Iran has damaged 20 US military sites across eight Middle East countries since the start of the war. The facilities are reported to include air defence systems, refuelling aircraft and radars, with damage spread across Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Iraq, Jordan, Bahrain and Oman. The findings suggest the scale of the attacks may be greater than has been publicly acknowledged.

Sponsored

The analysis says the strikes have taken place since the end of February and have affected both US bases and shared military facilities. A US defence official declined to comment on the findings, citing operational security reasons. The US has also sought to limit further scrutiny by asking a major satellite imagery provider to impose an indefinite restriction on new images of Iran and most of the Middle East.

The company said it wanted to ensure its images were not used by adversarial actors to target allied and Nato-partner personnel and civilians. The damage identified includes three Terminal High Altitude Area Defense batteries at Al Ruwais and Al Sader airbases in the UAE and at Muwaffaq Salti Airbase in Jordan. Those systems are among the most valuable pieces of US missile defence hardware deployed overseas, with each battery costing around $1bn to manufacture.

The analysis says the attacks have caused millions of dollars of damage, and some analysts believe the number of bases hit could be as high as 28. The Pentagon says it has hit more than 13,000 targets in Iran since the start of Operation Epic Fury. The findings matter because they point to a wider and more sustained regional dimension to the conflict between Iran, the US and Israel.

Sponsored

Damage to US military infrastructure across several countries raises questions about the resilience of American force posture in the Middle East and the ability of Iran to strike dispersed targets. It also suggests that the conflict is not confined to direct exchanges in one theatre, but is affecting military assets spread across a broad regional network. The reporting also adds to the picture of how both sides are trying to shape the information environment around the war.

Iran's supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, has sought to highlight what he describes as military success in striking US facilities. In a statement on Tuesday, he said the Middle East was no longer a safe place for American bases. At the same time, the US has tried to reduce the availability of fresh satellite imagery, which analysts say can be used to assess damage and verify claims made by both sides.

The conflict has already involved strikes by the US and Israel across Iran and Lebanon over the past three months, according to the material provided. The satellite analysis suggests Iran's counter-attacks have been more precise and extensive than American officials have publicly acknowledged. It also underlines the role of commercial satellite imagery in independently assessing damage in areas where official access is limited.

That makes the availability of imagery a strategic issue in its own right, not just a technical one. What remains unclear is the full extent of the damage and whether the number of affected sites is higher than the 20 identified so far. It is also not clear how many of the damaged systems are now operational again, or whether further strikes have taken place since the latest imagery was collected.

Sponsored

The US has not commented on the specific findings, and analysts say the picture may continue to change as more imagery becomes available. The next developments to watch are any further official responses, additional satellite assessments and whether the reported restrictions on new imagery remain in place.

#Iran #UnitedStates #MiddleEast #satelliteimagery #militarybases