American bases in the Middle East suffered “extensive damage” from Iranian strikes that is “far worse than publicly acknowledged,” a new report alleges.
Insiders tell NBC News that the public has been shielded from the true damage inflicted by Iran, including that an Iranian F-5 fighter jet breached U.S. air defenses to strike a base in Kuwait.
NBC writes that its conclusion is based on findings by the conservative think tank American Enterprise Institute and interviews with congressional aides and other U.S. officials.
AEI’s assessment reportedly found that Iran hit more than 100 targets across 11 U.S. bases in the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
Two officials told NBC that the F-5 attack marked “the first time an enemy fixed-wing aircraft has struck an American military base in years.”
AEI estimates Iran inflicted well over $5 billion in damage in its retaliatory strikes, according to NBC. That comes in addition to the deaths of 13 service members and injuries to nearly 400 troops, per the Pentagon’s count.
Some Republican lawmakers are reportedly irked that they are not receiving a full picture of the damage inflicted by Iran.
“No one knows anything. And it’s not for lack of asking,” a Republican congressional aide told NBC. “We have been asking for weeks and not getting specifics, even as the Pentagon is asking for a record high budget.”
Hegseth and Trump previously rejected the notion that Iran had the capacity to inflict such damage.
Trump, 79, maintained on Friday that Iran has “been obliterated.” He added on Saturday that Washington has “all the cards” in peace negotiations.
The Pentagon did not respond to a request for comment from the Daily Beast, but an official told NBC, “We do not discuss battle damage assessments for operation security reasons. Our forces remain fully operational, and we continue to execute our mission with the same readiness and combat effectiveness.”
The White House and AEI did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Hegseth told reporters in March that Iran’s missiles would not make it to their targets.
“There’s almost nothing they can militarily do about it,” he said. “Yes, they will still shoot some missiles, but we will shoot them down.
NBC reports that a notable number of missiles made it through at some point.
Allegations of a cover-up are not just regarding military infrastructure. An analysis by The Intercept this week claimed that the number of American service member casualties is also higher than what has been made public by the Pentagon.
NBC reports that the White House has asked private satellite companies not to publish images of U.S. bases in the region after they were struck by Iran. The request was revealed by Planet Labs in an April 4 email to customers that said the company’s 14-day blackout of the areas was being extended.
Previously, The New York Times used publicly available satellite data to shed light on the extent of Iran’s damage to bases, showing before-and-after comparisons of U.S. installations.
