IRAN BATTERS S U.S. WAR MACHINE ACROSS WEST
Jets, Black Hawks, Naval Assets Hit as Bahrain Base ‘Blown to Hell’
TEHRAN — Evidence of the damage inflicted on U.S. military infrastructure across West Asia is mounting, with American aircraft hit at a major air base in Jordan and the acting U.S. Navy secretary acknowledging that Iranian strikes “blew the hell” out of the U.S. Fifth Fleet headquarters in Bahrain.
The latest disclosures offer a sharply different picture from Washington’s repeated claims that Iran’s retaliatory capabilities have been severely degraded and that American operations across the region remain largely intact.
Several U.S. military aircraft were damaged during Iranian strikes on the Muwaffaq Salti air base, also known as al-Azraq, in Jordan, according to U.S. officials cited by CBS and Reuters.
An A-10 Thunderbolt attack aircraft was struck and lost a wing, while roughly eight F-15 fighter jets also sustained damage, according to the
reports. U.S. forces at the base fired more than 30
Patriot interceptor missiles during the attack, with others putting the number to the north of 60 and even close to 120.
Images that emerged in recent days have also shown damaged U.S. Black Hawk helicopters being transported by truck away from Muwaffaq Salti Air Base, providing a visible indication of the damage inflicted on American aviation assets at the facility.
The scale of the defensive response itself points to the pressure on U.S. air defenses after months of war with Iran, particularly as American commanders have privately warned that stocks of key interceptors have fallen to dangerously low levels.
Muwaffaq Salti, located about 100 kilometers from Amman, has been a major U.S. military facility in the region and has repeatedly come under Iranian fire in retaliation for U.S. attacks on Iran.
The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) said its Aerospace Force targeted the base after the United States attacked Iranian commercial and oil vessels. It said the missile barrage struck maintenance and repair hangars, aircraft preparation facilities and shelters used for F-35, F-16 and F-15 aircraft, causing “heavy damage.”
The attack came amid a wider escalation in which Iranian forces have increasingly targeted the military infrastructure supporting the U.S. war campaign across the region.
The IRGC Navy said Thursday that it had also destroyed a U.S. unmanned surface vessel at the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz, identifying it as a Saildrone with hull number 5838.
The IRGC said Washington had recently deployed unmanned vessels into the strategic waterway in an effort to avoid direct confrontation with Iranian forces.
“With the help of Almighty God, the IRGC Navy struck one of the enemy’s unmanned vessels, hull number 5838, a Saildrone, at the entrance to the strategic Strait of Hormuz, thwarting its aggressive mission,” it said.
The force warned that the Strait of Hormuz remains closed and under Iranian intelligence surveillance and “smart control,” adding that hostile forces entering the waterway will be targeted.
The development followed the IRGC’s interception and capture of an advanced American unmanned underwater vehicle at the entrance to Hormuz earlier this week, further highlighting the vulnerability of U.S. unmanned systems operating in waters where Iranian forces retain a powerful military presence.
The most striking admission, however, came from Acting U.S. Navy Secretary Hung Cao, who acknowledged the extent of destruction at Naval Support Activity Bahrain, home to the headquarters of the U.S. Fifth Fleet.
Asked about the Iranian strikes, Cao said Iranian forces had “blew the hell” out of Bahrain.
The blunt assessment represents a rare acknowledgment from a senior American official after months of Washington downplaying the damage. Open-source satellite analysis and subsequent reporting had already indicated that the Fifth Fleet headquarters and other facilities sustained extensive damage.
Cao said the destruction had left the crew of the USS Abraham Lincoln with “no place for them to pull in.” The Navy’s top uniformed officer, Adm. Daryl Caudle, has said the service will not return to the Bahrain facility “anytime soon,” while a Navy task force is examining whether the base can support future high-intensity deployments.
The damage has also exposed the logistical consequences of Iran’s retaliatory campaign. The Abraham Lincoln spent nearly nine months at sea, including about 200 days in a combat zone, before making a port call in Thailand.
U.S. supply lines have reportedly been stretched as far as Diego Garcia because the Fifth Fleet’s Bahrain headquarters is no longer fully usable.
Iranian forces have repeatedly said that American bases used to launch attacks against the Islamic Republic cannot be treated as sanctuaries.
Images that emerged in recent days have also shown damaged U.S. Black Hawk helicopters being transported by truck away from Muwaffaq Salti Air Base, providing a visible indication of the damage inflicted on American aviation assets at the facility.
The scale of the defensive response itself points to the pressure on U.S. air defenses after months of war with Iran, particularly as American commanders have privately warned that stocks of key interceptors have fallen to dangerously low levels.
Muwaffaq Salti, located about 100 kilometers from Amman, has been a major U.S. military facility in the region and has repeatedly come under Iranian fire in retaliation for U.S. attacks on Iran.
The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) said its Aerospace Force targeted the base after the United States attacked Iranian commercial and oil vessels. It said the missile barrage struck maintenance and repair hangars, aircraft preparation facilities and shelters used for F-35, F-16 and F-15 aircraft, causing “heavy damage.”
The attack came amid a wider escalation in which Iranian forces have increasingly targeted the military infrastructure supporting the U.S. war campaign across the region.
The IRGC Navy said Thursday that it had also destroyed a U.S. unmanned surface vessel at the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz, identifying it as a Saildrone with hull number 5838.
The IRGC said Washington had recently deployed unmanned vessels into the strategic waterway in an effort to avoid direct confrontation with Iranian forces.
“With the help of Almighty God, the IRGC Navy struck one of the enemy’s unmanned vessels, hull number 5838, a Saildrone, at the entrance to the strategic Strait of Hormuz, thwarting its aggressive mission,” it said.
The force warned that the Strait of Hormuz remains closed and under Iranian intelligence surveillance and “smart control,” adding that hostile forces entering the waterway will be targeted.
The development followed the IRGC’s interception and capture of an advanced American unmanned underwater vehicle at the entrance to Hormuz earlier this week, further highlighting the vulnerability of U.S. unmanned systems operating in waters where Iranian forces retain a powerful military presence.
The most striking admission, however, came from Acting U.S. Navy Secretary Hung Cao, who acknowledged the extent of destruction at Naval Support Activity Bahrain, home to the headquarters of the U.S. Fifth Fleet.
Asked about the Iranian strikes, Cao said Iranian forces had “blew the hell” out of Bahrain.
The blunt assessment represents a rare acknowledgment from a senior American official after months of Washington downplaying the damage. Open-source satellite analysis and subsequent reporting had already indicated that the Fifth Fleet headquarters and other facilities sustained extensive damage.
Cao said the destruction had left the crew of the USS Abraham Lincoln with “no place for them to pull in.” The Navy’s top uniformed officer, Adm. Daryl Caudle, has said the service will not return to the Bahrain facility “anytime soon,” while a Navy task force is examining whether the base can support future high-intensity deployments.
The damage has also exposed the logistical consequences of Iran’s retaliatory campaign. The Abraham Lincoln spent nearly nine months at sea, including about 200 days in a combat zone, before making a port call in Thailand.
U.S. supply lines have reportedly been stretched as far as Diego Garcia because the Fifth Fleet’s Bahrain headquarters is no longer fully usable.
Iranian forces have repeatedly said that American bases used to launch attacks against the Islamic Republic cannot be treated as sanctuaries.