What Visuals Show About Recent Damage to US Military Sites in the Middle East

Iranian assaults on 9 US places throughout the Middle East in the two weeks since the cease-fire broke down present that the nation maintains a capability to inflict injury on exact targets, regardless of the Trump administration’s repeated claims that Iran’s navy capabilities have been diminished or destroyed.

A New York Times visible evaluation of US navy bases and different websites discovered the strikes have prompted injury to residing quarters and dealing areas, drone shelters, radar methods and different constructions.

One of the assaults, on Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan, killed three US soldiers and wounded others. A navy officer told The Times that almost a dozen troops have been additionally severely wounded sufficient by Iranian missile and drone assaults in Jordan and different nations this month that they have been flown to a US navy hospital in Germany for remedy.

Four of the websites, together with Muwaffaq Salti Air Base, had already been struck in the first months of the warfare, when Iran hit a complete of 18 military sites utilized by the US in seven nations.

Determining the injury to US navy websites has been hindered by a scarcity of high-resolution satellite tv for pc imagery of the area. The authorities has requested main US satellite tv for pc suppliers to withhold visuals — a long standing practice that precedes the Trump administration — citing dangers to US troops.

But the places of the bases are public data, and Iran usually and extensively circulates imagery of their strikes on these and different US targets as a part of their propaganda efforts.

The Times assessed the injury utilizing a variety of visible proof, together with these Iranian satellite tv for pc photographs which have been corroborated utilizing movies captured from inside the places that have been attacked, and images and lower-resolution satellite tv for pc imagery from NASA and the European Space Agency.

A Defense Department spokesperson informed The Times that “for operational security reasons, the department declines to comment on satellite imagery,” including that “because the investigation on the incident in Jordan is active, we do not have anything to announce at this time.”

The three troopers killed on Friday — First Lt. Tyler James Feehan, 25; Isabella Gonzales, 19; and Sgt. Angel Rampersad, 28 — have been assigned to missile protection models at Muwaffaq Salti Air Base, a hub for the US Air Force. In the days main up to the lethal assault, Iran had already struck the base not less than as soon as. Satellite imagery confirmed that an airfield hangar was destroyed someday between Wednesday and Friday morning.

Following the assaults on Friday night time, a video emerged on social media exhibiting a projectile explode close to a number of buildings that resemble prefabricated housing. It’s unclear if this was the similar explosion that killed the troopers or whether or not the weapons have been missiles, drones or a mix of each. At one second, it seems the particular person filming retreats right into a shelter as particles rains down. There is not any footage accessible that exhibits whether or not air protection methods for the base have been activated.

A photograph It additionally started circulating quickly after the assault that exhibits a lot of constructions burning. The unique supply of each the picture and pictures, which have been verified by The Times, is unknown, however they have been probably captured by personnel on the base.

Iran later launched a number of satellite tv for pc photographs exhibiting not less than 20 constructions have been utterly or partially destroyed.

Along with the strike on the space that seems to be residing quarters, Iranian strikes additionally broken two hangars and three drone shelters on the air base.

Iran additionally struck Tower 22, a US navy outpost on the northern Jordanian border with Syria. The destruction was first seen in low-resolution European satellite tv for pc imagery captured on Monday, which helped verify the timeframe of the assault. The subsequent day, Iranian media revealed a higher-resolution satellite tv for pc picture that clearly confirmed considered one of the outpost’s constructions had been destroyed.

A video that started circulating on Telegram on Tuesday from an unknown supply, however which has been verified by The Times, confirmed a constructing turned to rubble at Tower 22. The southern wing of the construction was leveled. A US official, talking on situation of anonymity to talk about operational issues, informed The Times {that a} small variety of troops have been injured in the assault. The officer mentioned that the accidents weren’t critical, and that the troops have been handled and returned to obligation.

In 2024, a drone attack on the outpostwhich the US mentioned was performed by an Iranian-backed militia, killed three American service members.

Jordan’s King Hussein International Airportthe place the US navy maintains a presence, was additionally struck, and hangars and a radar system have been hit at two different air bases in the nation.

The Times additionally corroborated Iranian satellite tv for pc imagery that exhibits a radar system at Ahmad al-Jaber Air Base in Kuwait was destroyed round July 20, solely six months after its building had been accomplished.

Most of the assaults earlier in the warfare focused navy infrastructure comparable to radar methods, air protection complexes and plane hangars. However, some strikes hit personnel amenities, together with an assault on a makeshift command publish in Kuwait that killed six American troopers in March. In April, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth informed a congressional committee that “every possible measure” was used to defend US service members on Gulf bases.

Four websites, together with Muwaffaq Salti Air Base, have been struck once more in the previous two weeks after being attacked earlier in the warfare. At a naval facility in Bahrain, Iran focused warehouses, a radar website and communications methods in one-way drone assaults in the spring. Now, satellite tv for pc imagery exhibits a warehouse was struck two weeks in the past.

Satellite imagery additionally confirmed comparatively minor injury to Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait, which was additionally struck in the spring.

And a big navy tent was destroyed at a US navy website at Erbil International Airport in Iraq, which was additionally struck earlier in the warfare.

Riley Mellen, Sanjana Varghese and Eric Schmitt contributed reporting. Graphics by Leanne Abraham and Samuel Granados.