Active-duty U.S. service members have leaked photos to CBS News that depict damage to American military infrastructure in the Middle East during the Iran war.
asserted
that → leak → war
The images, which are undated and were shared anonymously, appear to show the aftermath of missile and drone strikes on U.S. facilities in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.
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which → undate → Arabia
The previously unseen images underscore the far-reaching impact of President Donald Trump’s war with Iran, now in its seven month with no clear end in sight.
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images → underscore → sight
“This is major damage to our bases that hasn't been communicated to the American public,” one service member told CBS News.
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member → communicate → News
“We're standing there with our eyes closed getting punched in the face.”
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eyes → stand → face
One photo, from Prince Sultan Air Force Base in Al Kharj, Saudi Arabia, shows a four-engine Boeing aircraft with a large section of its fuselage and radar dome missing.
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section → show → fuselage
Debris is scattered across the runway and sand.
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Debris → scatter → runway
Earlier images of what appeared to be the same damaged plane had circulated on social media in March.
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what → appear → March
Another image from the base — which houses thousands of U.S. military personnel — shows a building gutted by a strike, with sections of its roof and walls torn away.
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sections → house → roof
Photos from Camp Buehring and Camp Arifjan in Kuwait show similar destruction: a charred truck, a damaged three-story building and a field of trailers flattened after a strike.
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Photos → show → strike
Another image shows a dark plume of smoke rising from what appears to be a large tent-like structure.
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what → show → smoke
The CBS News report quickly gained traction on social media, drawing more than 1 million views on X alone and prompting reactions from former U.S. military personnel and policy experts.
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report → gain → personnel
“This is shocking to me after having served at some of these locations,” wrote Fred Wellman, a retired Army officer and Democratic candidate for Congress in Missouri.
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Wellman → serve → Missouri
“The ‘damaged’ AWACS [Airborne Warning and Control System] has suffered a catastrophic hit,” wrote Sina Azodi, a professor of Middle East studies at George Washington University, referring to the image of the Boeing aircraft.
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Azodi → suffer → aircraft
The Independent has contacted the Pentagon and White House for comment.
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Independent → contact → comment
Trump administration officials, who say the war is necessary to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, have repeatedly emphasized the damage U.S. forces have inflicted on Iran.
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forces → say → Iran
They have said Iran’s military has effectively been wiped out and that vast numbers of Iranian leaders have been killed.
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numbers → say → leaders
“Iran is officially a Failed Nation,” President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social last month.
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Trump → write → Social
“They have no Navy, they have no Air Force, they have no currency, they are not paying their soldiers or police, Inflation is at 300%, and their leadership is in total disarray and incapable of properly representing the country.”
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leadership → have → country
At the same time, Trump and members of his administration have said little about damage the U.S. military has sustained and, at times, have appeared to minimize it.
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military → say → it
In March, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth described Iranian strikes on U.S. bases as “squirters,” telling reporters that “every once in a while you might have one” that penetrates air defenses.
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that → describe → defenses
Last week, Trump denied reports that Iranian strikes had damaged U.S. military aircraft in Jordan.
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strikes → deny → Jordan
Asked by a NewsNation journalist whether there was truth to the report, Trump replied: “None whatsoever…
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Trump → ask → None
Yet, the U.S. has paid a heavy price for the war, measured in lives lost and economic ramifications.
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U.S. → pay → lives
Some 18 U.S. service members have been killed and more than 700 have been wounded, according to the Pentagon.
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700 → kill → Pentagon
In Iran, at least 3,636 people have been killed, according to HRANA, a U.S.-based human rights group.
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people → kill → HRANA
This week, the Pentagon’s inspector general acknowledged in a report that Iranian strikes damaged and destroyed hundreds of buildings and other structures at American bases in Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Oman and Jordan.
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strikes → acknowledge → Kuwait
Last month, NBC News reported that Iran had inflicted “billions” of dollars in damage on U.S. intelligence infrastructure, including surveillance equipment, in the Middle East.
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Iran → report → East
That same month, CBS News reported that the U.S. military had used nearly all of its stockpiled long-range precision missiles during the conflict — an assessment Trump disputed.
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Trump → report → assessment
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated this week the Iran war has cost the Pentagon about $38 billion, amounting to about $246 million per day.
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war → estimate → day
The broader U.S. economy has also been impacted, with the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a major oil supply route, triggering spikes in global fuel prices.
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closure → impact → prices
On Wednesday, the average price of a gallon of gasoline in the U.S. stood at $4.63, according to AAA, up from $2.98 two days before the war began.
uncertain
war → stand → 2.98
Recent polling suggests the war is broadly unpopular in the U.S.
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war → suggest → U.S.
A July AP-NORC survey found that just 28 percent of Americans approved of Trump’s handling of the conflict.
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percent → find → conflict
The Aporia
