Iran war base damage across eight Middle Eastern countries destroyed or damaged hundreds of buildings and dozens of American aircraft and drones, the Pentagon Inspector General has confirmed in its first official accounting of the conflict’s costs.
The watchdog report, covering 1 April to 30 June, also acknowledged advanced weapons shortfalls and industrial supply bottlenecks that experts say will take about three years to resolve.
Iran war base damage: what the inspector general found
Iranian strikes hit American installations in Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Oman and Jordan, the report stated.
U.S. diplomatic outposts in Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the UAE suffered the worst of the physical damage, at an estimated cost of $184 million.
Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth told Congress in late July that the war had cost $37.5 billion in total so far.
A breakdown published by Quartz shows that figure includes $22.3 billion in munitions used, $3.7 billion in lost equipment, and $7.4 billion in miscellaneous costs, according to the inspector general’s report.
The report also confirmed that the conflict has resulted in ‘strategic inventory shortfalls and revealed industrial base bottlenecks for munitions resupply’ in regard to advanced weapons.
Bahrain hub targeted as supply lines forced to shift
The U.S. Navy’s main logistics hub in Bahrain was struck by Iranian drone and ballistic missile attacks, according to NewsCord, which reported the inspector general’s findings.
U.S. Central Command was forced to shift supply lines to alternate hubs including Diego Garcia, resulting in logistics cycles of 14 to 18 days, the report confirmed.
The disruption adds operational weight to warnings about the pace of weapons replenishment. Experts have previously said military contractors will need approximately three years to rebuild stocks of advanced missiles and defensive interceptors to pre-war levels.
Evacuation costs and diplomatic bills
The State Department reported that in the weeks and months after the U.S. and Israel first struck Iran on 28 February, the Trump administration evacuated about 9,000 U.S. citizens from countries in the Middle East and Europe.
The department’s overall conflict costs reached $113 million, with nearly $80 million directed at contingency plans, including evacuation expenses for U.S. personnel, their families, and other American citizens and eligible third-country nationals.
The evacuation operation itself cost more than $11 million as of late June, using private and commercial flights as well as land and water travel.
The majority of evacuations were from Israel, followed by Iraq and Jordan. Evacuating 1,200 Americans from the UAE to Istanbul, Athens and Washington proved the most expensive single operation, at more than $4 million.
The State Department determined it would be ‘impracticable’ to seek reimbursement from evacuees, citing the difficulty consular officers faced in documenting travel itineraries.
Military sales topped $44 billion
More than $44 billion in emergency and non-emergency military sales were made during the same period, the State Department reported, with the majority going to Saudi Arabia.
Sales included military helicopters, munitions and munitions support, and advanced precision weapons systems. Qatar, Kuwait, the UAE and Israel also received billions in sales as Iran retaliated against nearly every country in the region hosting a U.S. military base.
The report was produced jointly by the watchdogs for the Defence and State departments and the U.S. Agency for International Development. Its publication was first reported by NBC News.
