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Stunning new photographs leaked by American service members appear to reveal the devastating scale of Iranian attacks on US military bases across the Middle East.
The previously unseen images show wrecked aircraft, gutted buildings, flattened trailers and burned-out vehicles at American facilities in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait following missile and drone strikes during the seven-month war.
One of the most striking photographs shows a Boeing E-3 Sentry surveillance aircraft at Prince Sultan Air Force Base in Saudi Arabia with its rear section devastated by an apparent direct hit.
asserted
section → see → hit
The four-engine plane's tail is severed from its charred fuselage, while the aircraft's distinctive radar system - used to detect and track aircraft and gather vital battlefield intelligence - has also been badly damaged.
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system → sever → intelligence
Debris is strewn across the ground surrounding the mangled aircraft.
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Debris → strew → aircraft
The images were supplied to CBS News by active-duty service members who requested anonymity because of restrictions on speaking publicly.
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who → supply → restrictions
'This is major damage to our bases that hasn't been communicated to the American public,' one deployed service member told the network.
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member → communicate → network
'We're standing there with our eyes closed getting punched in the face.'
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eyes → stand → face
An image appears to show a US Air Force E-3G Sentry aircraft sitting in ruins at Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia after an Iranian missile and drone strike in March
This is what the aircraft usually looks like.
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aircraft → appear → what
The Air Force E-3 Sentry acts as an airborne command center and radar platform that provides surveillance and target detection
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that → act → surveillance
Other photographs from Prince Sultan appear to show buildings and barracks torn apart by Iranian strikes, with roofs ripped open and rooms exposed to the elements.
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rooms → appear → elements
Concrete 'T-walls' - barriers designed to protect personnel and infrastructure from explosions such as mortar and grenade attacks - can be seen standing beside some of the wreckage.
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walls → design → wreckage
The images underscore the challenges posed by missiles and drones raining down from above.
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images → underscore → missiles
The devastation is not confined to Saudi Arabia.
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devastation → confine → Arabia
Photographs taken at Camp Buehring in Kuwait show even more destruction.
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Photographs → take → destruction
One image shows a burned-out vehicle, while another captures rows of trailers apparently flattened by a strike.
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another → show → strike
At Camp Arifjan, also in Kuwait, a multi-story building appears badly damaged.
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building → appear → Kuwait
Another image shows thick, dark smoke billowing into the sky from what appears to be a large tent-like structure.
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what → show → sky
A destroyed US Air Force Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft, primarily used for air traffic control, is seen in ruins following an Iranian strike at Prince Sultan Airbase in Saudi Arabia in March
Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have repeatedly emphasized the effectiveness of the US campaign and its defenses, even as the newly disclosed images and Pentagon figures reveal substantial damage has been inflicted on American forces
The Pentagon's own watchdog has now provided official evidence of how widespread Iranian attacks have been.
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attacks → destroy → evidence
US Central Command reported strikes against American bases in eight countries - Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Oman and Jordan, according to the Defense Department inspector general's first report to Congress on Operation Epic Fury.
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Command → report → Fury
The inspector general put equipment losses at as much as $3.7 billion, including nearly 60 aircraft, according to CBS News.
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general → put → News
The report also estimated that Operation Epic Fury had cost $33.4 billion between February 28 and June 30, with a staggering $22.3 billion spent on munitions alone.
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Fury → estimate → munitions
'The munitions expenditure on OEF has resulted in strategic inventory shortfalls and revealed industrial base bottlenecks for munitions resupply,' the watchdog warned.
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watchdog → result → resupply
The disclosures are particularly striking because the Trump administration has repeatedly emphasized the effectiveness of American operations against Iran while publicly saying far less about damage inflicted on US forces.
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administration → emphasize → forces
President Donald Trump has argued that the campaign is necessary to prevent Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and has repeatedly portrayed Iran's military capabilities as having been devastated.
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campaign → argue → capabilities
'Iran is officially a Failed Nation,' Trump wrote on Truth Social last month, claiming the country had 'no Navy' and 'no Air Force,' while describing its leadership as being in 'total disarray.'
But the leaked photographs offer a dramatic glimpse of the damage inflicted on the other side of the conflict.
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photographs → write → conflict
Personnel in protective suits inspect a heavily damaged aircraft, its radar section ripped apart in what appears to be a targeted strike on critical systems last March
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth previously used the term 'squirter' to describe an occasional Iranian weapon that managed to evade US defenses.
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that → inspect → defenses
The remark came after the deadly March 1 attack on the Port of Shuaiba in Kuwait, which killed six American troops.
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which → come → troops
The service member who provided the latest photographs disputed that characterization.
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who → provide → characterization
'These are not 'squirters' getting through,' the service member told CBS News.
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member → get → News
'We're not defending these bases.
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We → defend → bases
We're just watching them get destroyed.'
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them → watch → ?
US facilities elsewhere in the region have also sustained damage.
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facilities → sustain → damage
CBS News reported last week that Iranian strikes against Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan damaged multiple American aircraft, including an A-10 Thunderbolt that lost a wing.
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that → report → wing
Around eight F-15 fighter jets suffered lighter damage and were subsequently returned to service, according to people with direct knowledge of the incident.
Prince Sultan Air Base itself has previously come under heavy attack.
Ten American service members were injured there during an Iranian missile-and-drone assault in March, US officials told CBS News at the time.
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officials → suffer → time
The Aporia
