RT

The tally of US military bases targeted in Iranian strikes continues to rise, with Washington acknowledging attacks across multiple countries. While Iranian military and media sources put the number of targeted bases at more than a dozen, the Pentagon is apparently doing its best to conceal the destruction.

Within hours of the US launching ‘Operation Epic Fury’ on February 28, Iran unleashed retaliatory strikes against American military bases across the Middle East, with US officials confirming a growing number of sites hit and the Prince Sultan base in Saudi Arabia emerging as a focal point of the campaign.

Behind a veil of censorship, it’s increasingly clear that the damage may be far more severe than the Pentagon is admitting.

The reported damage to high-value assets such as an E-3 AWACS aircraft and an F-35 fighter jet points to a broader pattern of Iran targeting US airpower and surveillance capabilities. An E-3 Sentry was reportedly damaged or destroyed in a March 27 strike on Prince Sultan Air Base. Earlier, a US F-35 was damaged during a mission over Iran and forced to make an emergency landing, while three US F-15E jets were shot down over Kuwait on March 2 in an apparent friendly fire incident, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said.

With the war entering its second month, the US death toll continues to rise. The US military has confirmed 13 fatalities from Iranian attacks across the region, while more than 300 troops have been wounded, according to US officials cited by Reuters in late March.

New strikes and expanding damage

Iran has continued to expand the scope of its attacks beyond the initial wave. Iranian military statements carried by local media have in recent days named targets including Camp Arifjan in Kuwait, Prince Sultan Air Base near Al-Kharj in Saudi Arabia, and Sheikh Isa Air Base in Bahrain, while also referring more broadly to strikes on US positions in Iraq, the UAE, and across the Gulf. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) also claimed it had targeted the US Fifth Fleet and destroyed “high-value” American military equipment.

A March 27 Iranian missile and drone strike on Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia wounded 12 US troops, two of them seriously, according to a US official cited by Reuters. The attack also damaged several US aircraft, according to American officials, with separate reports indicating that refueling planes were among those hit.

US and Arab officials cited by the Wall Street Journal said the same strike also hit a Boeing E-3 Sentry airborne warning and control system (AWACS) aircraft, a critical surveillance platform. The IRGC said the aircraft was “100% destroyed” in the strike, while open-source flight tracking data indicated that multiple such planes had been stationed at the base in recent weeks. The E-3, a key command-and-control platform, costs around $270 million to produce. CENTCOM has not publicly confirmed the extent of the reported damage.

Iranian media on Sunday claimed fresh drone and rocket strikes on US-linked facilities in Iraq, including targets around Baghdad and the Victory Base complex. Earlier Reuters reported a drone strike on a US diplomatic facility near Baghdad airport on March 10, followed by further rocket and drone attacks on March 17.

How many bases does the US have in the Middle East?

The US operates a network of around 20 permanent and temporary military bases throughout the Middle East, with the largest – Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar – hosting 10,000 troops and serving as the forward headquarters for CENTCOM. The US maintains a network of major military bases across Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, and as of mid-2025, there are between 40,000 and 50,000 American troops stationed in the region at any one time.

These bases surround Iran from the west and south, and are backed by US naval assets in the region, including the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea, alongside amphibious forces in the region, including the USS Tripoli, with additional carrier reinforcements expected. The USS Gerald R. Ford has been pulled out of the Middle East and moved to port for repairs following a fire, leaving the Lincoln as the only carrier currently on station.

Recent deployments have further expanded the US military footprint in the region. The arrival of around 2,500 marines and 2,500 sailors has pushed the total number of American troops in the Middle East to more than 50,000, roughly 10,000 above typical levels, according to a US military official cited by the New York Times.

Which US bases have been hit?

All of the US bases in the region have been described as “legitimate targets” by the Iranian military, and facilities in seven countries have already been hit by Iranian missiles and drones.

As of late March, the following US bases and associated facilities have been struck by Iranian missiles and drones, often more than once, according to US officials, media reports, and regional sources:

• Naval Support Activity, Bahrain
• Erbil International Airport, Iraq
• Al-Asad Airbase, Iraq
• Victory Base complex (Baghdad International Airport area)
• Muwaffaq Salti Air Base, Jordan
• Ali Al-Salem Air Base, Kuwait
• Camp Buehring, Kuwait
• Camp Arifjan, Kuwait
• Mohammed Al-Ahmad Naval Base, Kuwait
• Al-Udeid Air Base, Qatar
• Al-Dhafra Air Base, UAE
• Jebel Ali Port, UAE
• Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia.

Several of these strikes have been confirmed by US officials or reported by Reuters and other international media, while others remain based primarily on Iranian claims.

What’s on Iran’s target list?

The strikes on American air bases serve the immediate goal of reducing US ability to conduct air operations over Iran and forcing aircraft to operate from more distant locations. Iran’s campaign has also focused heavily on radar and missile defense systems, including THAAD-linked installations and early warning radars across the region.