A key United States military facility in Bahrain has sustained severe damage following months of fighting with Iran, prompting Washington to evaluate the future of its naval headquarters in the Middle East.
In a rare official admission six months into the war, Acting Secretary of the US Navy Hung Cao stated that retaliatory Iranian attacks had severely impacted the installation near Manama.
“They blew the hell out of Bahrain,” Cao said during an interview with The Epoch Times, confirming that a Navy task force is currently determining whether the facility can be repaired.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi welcomed the admission on social media platform X, appreciating Cao’s candour. Araghchi asserted that Iranian armed forces had indeed damaged the 5th Fleet Headquarters in Bahrain alongside other bases supporting US aggression, reports Al Jazeera.
Located in Juffair, a few kilometres from the capital Manama, the Naval Support Activity (NSA) Bahrain base serves as the headquarters for the US Fifth Fleet and the US Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT).
Described as the main logistics hub and nerve centre for US naval operations in the region, the facility also played a primary role during the 2003 military invasion and occupation of Iraq.
According to an investigation by The Wall Street Journal, which analysed satellite imagery and social media footage alongside service member interviews, Iranian strikes repeatedly targeted the base between February and June following US and Israeli air attacks across Iran.
The strikes caused extensive damage to the base’s command centre and at least a dozen other structures, which the US Pentagon had not immediately acknowledged.
Admiral Daryl Caudle, the Navy’s most senior uniformed officer, indicated earlier this month that NSA Bahrain would not resume service “anytime soon” due to the damage it had sustained.
The operational disruption at NSA Bahrain directly affected the deployment of the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, leaving its crew with no regional port to pull in.
The extended nine-month deployment triggered a mental health crisis among the ship’s crew, with reports of sailors attempting to jump overboard, before the carrier finally docked at Laem Chabang in Thailand earlier this month.
Strikes hit airbase in Jordan
The admissions come as Iranian strikes overnight on Tuesday targeted the Muwaffaq Salti Air Base, known as the Al-Azraq base, in Jordan. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed responsibility for the missile strikes, stating they targeted maintenance, preparation, and deployment sites, as well as shelters, for F-35, F-16, and F-15 fighter jets.
The Jordanian Armed Forces reported that air defences intercepted 18 of 20 incoming missiles, with two falling in open areas. US forces fired approximately 30 Patriot interceptor missiles during the engagement, amid reports of depleting US air defence missile stockpiles.
Despite the interceptions, sources speaking to CBS News confirmed that multiple US military aircraft were damaged. An A-10 Thunderbolt attack aircraft, known as the Warthog, lost a wing, while eight F-15 fighter jets sustained light damage before being restored to service.
The Iranian attack on the base in Jordan was conducted after the US struck five Iranian oil tankers in and around the Strait of Hormuz, in retaliation for Iran targeting a US Navy warship.
The Al-Azraq base, located nearly 100 kilometres (62 miles) northeast of Amman, is named in tribute to Lieutenant Muwaffaq Salti, a Jordanian pilot killed in combat with Israel in 1966 during the Battle of as-Samu. Tehran has claimed strikes on the installation more than 10 times between March and September.
Previous incidents included a 10 June long-range missile attack and a 17 July drone and ballistic missile strike. US Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed that two US service members were killed in action, one was reported missing, and four were injured during the 17 July attack.
The conflict has taken a significant toll on US forces across the Middle East. A May report from the US Congressional Research Service indicated that 42 US military aircraft had already been lost or damaged by that time.
Since US-Israeli strikes initiated the war in February, 18 US service members have been killed and more than 800 injured.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei declared that the Middle East is no longer a “safe place” for US bases, as Iranian forces have targeted key US facilities across eight countries in the region.
Analysis of visual evidence by the BBC in June indicated that Iranian strikes have damaged at least 20 US military sites, causing millions of dollars in damage. Affected installations include Prince Sultan Airbase in Saudi Arabia, where refuelling and surveillance aircraft were heavily hit, as well as Ali Al Salem Airbase and Camp Arifjan in Kuwait, where fuel storage bunkers, aircraft hangars, and troop accommodation sustained damage.
Three advanced anti-ballistic missile battery systems, costing approximately $1 billion each to manufacture, were damaged at Al Ruwais and Al Sader airbases in the United Arab Emirates and at Muwaffaq Salti Airbase in Jordan.
