Iranian attacks on nine U.S. locations across the Middle East in the two weeks since the cease-fire collapsed demonstrate Tehran’s retained ability to strike precise targets, contradicting Trump administration assertions that Iran’s military capabilities have been degraded or destroyed.
A New York Times visual analysis of U.S. military bases and facilities found the strikes damaged living quarters, operational areas, drone shelters, radar systems, and other structures.
An attack on Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan killed three U.S. soldiers and wounded others. A military official told The Times that nearly a dozen troops were severely wounded by Iranian missile and drone attacks in Jordan and elsewhere this month, requiring evacuation to a U.S. military hospital in Germany.
Four sites, including Muwaffaq Salti, had been struck previously during the war’s initial months, when Iran hit 18 U.S.-used military sites across seven countries.
Assessing damage has been complicated by a lack of high-resolution satellite imagery; the U.S. government has long asked major satellite providers to withhold visuals of the region, citing troop safety.
However, base locations are public knowledge, and Iran widely circulates imagery of its strikes on these and other U.S. targets for propaganda purposes.
The Times assessed damage using Iranian satellite images corroborated by videos from inside attacked locations, plus photographs and lower-resolution satellite imagery from NASA and the European Space Agency.
A Defense Department spokesman declined to comment on satellite imagery for operational security reasons and cited an active investigation into the Jordan incident.
The three soldiers killed Friday—First Lt. Tyler James Feehan, 25; Pvt. Isabella Gonzales, 19; and Sgt. Angel Rampersad, 28—were assigned to missile defense units at Muwaffaq Salti, a U.S. Air Force hub. Days before the deadly attack, Iran had struck the base at least once; satellite imagery showed an airfield hangar destroyed between Wednesday and Friday morning.
After Friday night’s attacks, a verified social media video showed a projectile exploding near prefabricated housing. It remains unclear if this explosion caused the fatalities or whether missiles, drones, or both were used. At one point, the filmer retreats into a shelter as debris falls. No footage shows whether base air defenses activated.
A photograph circulating post-attack shows multiple structures burning. The source of the image and footage is unknown but likely base personnel; both were verified by The Times.
Iran later released satellite images showing at least 20 structures completely or partially destroyed.
Beyond the living quarters, Iranian strikes damaged two hangars and three drone shelters at the air base.
Iran also struck Tower 22, a U.S. outpost on Jordan’s northern border with Syria. Low-resolution European satellite imagery captured Monday first revealed the destruction, confirming the attack timeframe. The next day, Iranian media published a high-resolution image showing one structure destroyed.
A verified Telegram video from Tuesday showed a building reduced to rubble at Tower 22; the southern wing was leveled. Casualties are unknown. A 2024 drone attack on the outpost, attributed by the U.S. to an Iran-backed militia, killed three American service members.
Jordan’s King Hussein International Airport, hosting a U.S. military presence, was also struck, along with hangars and a radar system at two other Jordanian air bases.
The Times corroborated Iranian imagery showing a radar system at Ahmad al-Jaber Air Base in Kuwait destroyed around July 20, just six months after completion.
Earlier war attacks primarily targeted military infrastructure—radar, air defenses, aircraft hangars—though some hit personnel facilities, including a March strike on a makeshift command post in Kuwait that killed six Americans. In April, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told Congress that “every possible measure” was being used to protect U.S. personnel on Gulf bases.
Four sites, including Muwaffaq Salti, were struck again in the past two weeks after earlier attacks. At a Bahrain naval facility, Iran targeted warehouses, a radar site, and communications systems with one-way drones in the spring; imagery now shows a warehouse struck two weeks ago.
Satellite imagery also revealed relatively minor damage at Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait, also struck in the spring.
A large military tent was destroyed at a U.S. site at Erbil International Airport in Iraq, another location hit earlier in the war.
Riley Mellen and Sanjana Varghese contributed reporting. Leanne Abraham and Samuel Granados contributed visual production.
