Iran strikes caused $184M in damage to US diplomatic posts in four Gulf countries, watchdog says
U.S. diplomatic facilities in four Gulf countries sustained around $184 million in estimated damages from Iranian military strikes, according to a Pentagon watchdog report made public on Monday. The posts are located in Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Iraq suffered the heaviest damage at more than $157 million, followed by Kuwait at over $14 million and Saudi Arabia at $11.5 million, according to the 44-page report. The diplomatic facility in the United Arab Emirates sustained $125,000 in damages. The U.S. mission in Iraq experienced over 600 Iranian attacks.
The report is the first from the Pentagon watchdog since the U.S. and Israel launched the war in late February.
From Feb. 28 to June 29, the Pentagon estimated the war’s cost at $33.4 billion, not including infrastructure repairs. In July, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told Senate lawmakers the cost was $37.5 billion, a figure some experts called a low estimate.
The State Department reported that as of June 2, it had incurred $113 million in costs related to the war and that “as it continues to assess damage, costs are likely to rise.”
Eighteen U.S. service members have been killed and some 800 wounded in the war. Roughly 50,000 American troops remain deployed to the region. The Trump administration has yet to provide a clear exit strategy from the conflict.
More than 50 U.S. aircraft have been damaged or destroyed since the war began, including four F-15Es, seven KC-135 refueling aircraft, four AH-6 helicopters and at least 30 MQ-9 Reaper drones, according to the watchdog.
Top administration officials have at times downplayed the damage Iranian one-way attack drones and missiles have inflicted on U.S. military bases, aircraft and other assets in the U.S. Central Command theater.
Last week, President Donald Trump denied news reports that several U.S. military jets were damaged in Iran’s attack on Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan.
“None whatsoever. No damage. No nothing,” Trump said in an interview when asked about one A-10 Thunderbolt losing a wing and eight F-15s sustaining light damage.
Some top officials were more candid. Acting U.S. Navy Secretary Hung Cao said last week, “They blew the hell out of Bahrain.”
Cao was asked about damage at Naval Support Activity Bahrain, which serves as the headquarters for U.S. Naval Forces Central Command and the U.S. Fifth Fleet.
The Navy has used the base as its main logistics hub in the Middle East. The service branch is weighing what to do with the facility, including whether it should be repaired.
“I have a task force that’s looking at that,” Cao said.
