WSJ: Iran’s strikes caused far greater damage at U.S. Bahrain base than Pentagon admits

An investigation published overnight by The Wall Street Journal says Iranian missile and drone attacks caused extensive damage at the U.S. Navy base in Bahrain, the main American naval hub in the Middle East, and that the Pentagon is withholding the full scale of the destruction. The report is based on satellite imagery, social media video and interviews with current and former military officials. It says attacks carried out between late February and June penetrated defenses at the base, which sits less than 150 miles from Iran.

According to the report, the Fifth Fleet headquarters was badly hit and is no longer usable, a U.S. official said. Two advanced satellite communications terminals were destroyed, along with a communications-management facility. A large warehouse complex was also damaged, including a hangar previously used by Task Force 59, the Navy unit focused on drones and artificial intelligence. An emergency warehouse, a main water tank, the central dining hall and a dormitory that could house about 450 personnel were also struck. Using an official Pentagon pricing model, the newspaper estimated rebuilding the physical structures in Bahrain alone at about $400 million, but said the true total will be much higher once debris removal, protective upgrades and destroyed equipment are included.

The Pentagon has tried to downplay the damage, saying its priority was protecting lives. CENTCOM spokesman Capt. Tim Hawkins said the command prioritized force protection and that out of more than 8,000 Iranian missiles and drones fired during the war, only two impacts caused fatalities. He also said the U.S. inflicted much greater damage on Iran and struck more than 13,500 targets. Still, lawmakers are frustrated by the lack of a precise damage estimate for American bases. Asked about it this week, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth replied, “What is the price of Iran acquiring a nuclear weapon?” Pentagon budget officials confirmed that the current war estimate, about $29 billion, does not include base reconstruction.

The damage in Bahrain, together with significant strikes on at least 20 other U.S. sites across the region, including Ali Al Salem in Kuwait, Al Dhafra in the United Arab Emirates and Prince Sultan in Saudi Arabia, is forcing Washington to reassess its military posture. Officials are weighing reductions in its footprint in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, shifting bases farther west, and building hardened underground command-and-control facilities. Two officials said the reorganization could eventually include moving some U.S. operational capabilities to Israel, which hosted dozens of American aircraft and tanker planes during the war. Bahrain has also moved against suspected Iranian collaborators, revoking the citizenship of 69 people and sentencing nine defendants to life in prison for aiding the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.