A recent report from the Department of Defense Office of the Inspector General reveals significant damage to numerous U.S. military and diplomatic premises caused by Iranian strikes.

According to statements from U.S. Central Command to IG investigators, Iranian attacks have led to the damage or destruction of numerous facilities across multiple U.S. bases located in Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Oman, and Jordan throughout the duration of the conflict.

The report, while lacking in details concerning military facilities, did provide clear information on the damages sustained by U.S. diplomatic buildings.

Investigators were informed by the State Department that Iranian attacks caused physical damages to diplomatic facilities in four nations, with repair costs estimated around $184 million in total.

Notably, U.S. diplomatic sites in Iraq faced over 600 instances of attacks, with significant strikes also occurring at the embassies in Kuwait City and Riyadh.

Damaged embassy facade with boarded windows and scaffolding
Diplomatic facilities sustained extensive damage requiring costly repairs.

As of June 29, the Pentagon has estimated the expenses for Operation Epic Fury to be approximately $33.4 billion. This includes $22.3 billion spent on munitions, $3.7 billion on lost equipment, and an additional $7.4 billion in operational costs beyond what CENTCOM normally incurs.

These calculations, however, do not encompass the costs for infrastructure repairs.

The Department of Defense clarified in the report that it excluded the costs related to military construction for damaged infrastructure from its estimates, as future strategies for regional presence, base construction methods, and financial contributions from allies and partners are still under consideration.

Due to the lack of a specific Congressional appropriation for the war efforts in Iran, the funding has been redirected from standard operational budgets, which typically cover training and maintenance expenses.

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The report highlights the difficulty in precisely determining the full ‘cost’ of Operation Epic Fury, marking one of the initial official evaluations since the operation commenced on February 28.

Additionally, funding challenges are being experienced by the U.S. Transportation Command, which has conducted over 1,500 missions in support of the operation.

During the operation’s peak, daily missions surged to between 30 and 40 directly into the CENTCOM area of responsibility, along with 20 to 30 aircraft facilitating transload operations into the USEUCOM area of responsibility, as per the report.

These efforts amounted to a cost of nearly $2.4 billion by June 30.

Although these costs have largely been reimbursed to date, USTRANSCOM reports potential delays in future payments as service funds dwindle without supplemental appropriations, according to the IG.

A U.S. aircraft lies in ruins after an Iranian attack at the Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia, as seen in a social media post. (Social media via Reuters)

The report verified that a significant number of U.S. manned and unmanned aircraft were either destroyed or damaged, referencing data from a Congressional Research Service report issued in May and confirmed by CENTCOM as of August 24.

Ruined military aircraft debris on tarmac after attack
Several manned and unmanned aircraft were destroyed or badly damaged.

The count of destroyed aircraft includes four F-15Es, one A-10, four AH-6 helicopters, one AH-64 and one MH-60, in addition to an MQ-4C drone and up to 30 MQ-9 Reapers.

As reported by the Pentagon, the number of U.S. military casualties as of August 27 stands at 18 dead and 774 wounded, a significant increase from the 417 reported as injured by June 30.