Photos show widespread damage at US sites from Iranian attacks

ByKayla Epstein and Bernd Debusmann Jr. 16 September 2026, 16: 23 BST.

Key points

• Another image demonstrates a four-storey building damaged by an Iranian strike at Camp Arifjan, in Kuwait.
• The Trump administration backed Hegseth, with US attorney general Todd Blanche telling reporters he was "doing a phenomenal job".
• Images showing widespread damage to multiple US sites in the Middle East from Iranian strikes have been obtained by the BBC's US partner CBS.
• The undated photos were taken at US bases and sites in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.
• The Boeing E-3 Awacs are applied to detect and track potential targets at long ranges to provide an early warning of feasible threats.

Meanwhile, the photos, provided by active military personnel, show a severed radar jet, flattened trailers and severely damaged buildings.

Meanwhile, the undated photos were taken at US bases and sites in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.

One member of the military. This person was not named by CBS, remarked: This is major damage to our bases that hasn't been communicated to the American public.

"We're standing there with our eyes closed getting punched in the face."

Meanwhile, the White House referred the BBC to US Central Command. Centcom did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Notably, the photos, which have not been independently verified by the BBC, were published the day after a report from the Pentagon's watchdog confirmed hundreds of buildings and structures at US bases in the Middle East have been damaged and destroyed by Iran.

One of the photos indicated a destroyed Boeing E-3 Sentry at Prince Sultan Air Force Base in Saudi Arabia that has been ripped in half, its tail section crumpled into a tangled mess of metal.

While the photo is undated, BBC Verify previously confirmed a similar photo, apparently of the same radar aircraft in March.

For context, the Boeing E-3 Awacs are applied to detect and track potential targets at long ranges to provide an early warning of feasible threats.

At the time, a US official informed Reuters that 12 US personnel had been wounded, two of them seriously, in an Iranian attack on the air base.

Meanwhile, a pair of undated images reportedly from Camp Beuhring, Kuwait, show crumpled trailers, and a sizeable tent-like structure that had been reduced to shreds as smoke billowed from the site.

Though it is not clear whether this image is from the same attack, damage to the site was documented in March, including on satellite communications hardware.

For context, the images were published on the heels of a report from the Pentagon's watchdog. It discovered Iranian strikes had "damaged and destroyed hundreds of buildings and structures at US bases in Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Oman, and Jordan during the conflict".

According to It additionally, equipment losses have totalled $3.7bn (£2.8bn). Overall, the US spent $33.4bn (£24.7bn) on the war up to 29 June, the report remarked.

In the months after the war began, "dozens of US aircraft were destroyed or damaged", the report continues.

In practice, the document lists a number of of the aircraft damaged, including five refuelling aircraft which were "damaged or destroyed on the ground in Saudi Arabia by Iranian munitions".

For context, a separate report, externalfrom the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) notes that the E-3 aircraft is no longer in production and would have to be replaced with a more modern equivalent, the E-7.

According to The CBO, the E-3 aircraft alone costs $500m (£371m), and the estimated total cost of equipment lost in battle – including planes, drones and a terminal high altitude area defence system – amounts to $1.9b (£1.4b).

According to CBO, its review was subject to "uncertainty" as the defence department did not respond to its requests for information, requiring the agency to rely on administration databases and public reports.

As the report notes, additionally, the extent of repairs and rebuilding that the US military intends to do remains unclear.

Public and political pressure has mounted on the White House to find an end to the conflict with Iran. It began on 28 February when the US and Israel introduced joint attacks on the country.

As well as Israel, since the war began Iran has repeatedly attacked US bases and allied states in the Gulf.

On Tuesday night, the US House of Representatives voted for the third time to end the war in Iran, approving a measure that would force President Donald Trump to end US military action without congressional approval.

Notably, the vote passed with the support of a number of Republicans, in what could be the final House vote on the matte r ahead of the US midterm elections in November.

It faces an uncertain path to passage – the US Senate has not indicated if it will take up the matter.

Notably, the same day, outgoing Republican Congressman Thomas Massie confirmed an attempt to impeach Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth as new details emerged concerning the Iran war's cost tag for the US.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration backed Hegseth, with US attorney general Todd Blanche telling reporters he was "doing a phenomenal job".

In short, photos show widespread damage at US sites from Iranian attacks is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.