U.S. officials called the Iran embassy strike minor damage, but the WSJ says the reality was far more severe

A recent Iranian drone strike on the U.S. Embassy in Saudi Arabia caused far more extensive damage than officials initially admitted, according to a new report. This comes as President Trump continues to claim that Iran is being “decimated” by ongoing U.S.-Israeli attacks, raising serious questions about how accurately the conflict is being reported to the public.

The strike happened during the first week of the war, when an Iranian drone evaded Riyadh’s air defenses and crashed directly into the American diplomatic compound. Moments later, a second drone hit the exact same spot, causing a powerful explosion. According to The Wall Street Journal, current and former U.S. officials revealed that the nighttime attack penetrated a secure part of the embassy, severely damaging three floors, including the CIA station.

The Saudi Defense Ministry initially described the strike as causing only limited fire and minor damage. But officials who spoke to reporters painted a much grimmer picture, describing a blaze that took half a day to put out and damage so severe that parts of the embassy are simply not recoverable. The attack happened at 1:30 AM on March 3, and officials noted that had it occurred during working hours, it could easily have become a mass-casualty event.

The Pentagon appears to be keeping U.S. casualty figures deliberately vague and outdated

This embassy incident fits into a broader pattern of what some are calling a casualty cover-up by the Pentagon under President Trump. The Intercept claims that almost 750 U.S. troops have been wounded or killed in the Middle East since October 2023 – a number the Pentagon appears reluctant to fully acknowledge. 

An anonymous defense official suggested this is “quite obviously, a subject that [War Secretary Pete] Hegseth and the White House want to keep under major wraps.” U.S. Central Command, or CENTCOM, has been accused of offering low and outdated figures while being slow to clarify military deaths and injuries. 

A statement from CENTCOM spokesperson Capt. Tim Hawkins noted that approximately 303 U.S. service members had been wounded since the start of Operation Epic Fury , but that comment was already three days old and failed to include at least 15 troops wounded in an Iranian attack on a Saudi air base the previous Friday. 

Reports suggest that Trump is not getting the full picture of the conflict, with his main Iran war briefing reportedly being a two-minute highlight reel. CENTCOM has not responded to repeated requests for updated figures.

The current figures also appear to exclude more than 200 sailors treated for smoke inhalation after a fire aboard the USS Gerald R. Ford, which had to travel to Souda Bay, Greece, for repairs. This is a stark contrast to 2024, when the Biden administration’s Pentagon provided detailed breakdowns of attacks on U.S. bases, including specific locations, types of strikes, and casualty numbers.

Jennifer Kavanagh, director of military analysis at Defense Priorities, stressed that “CENTCOM and the White House really should be providing accurate and timely information on the costs and casualties involved in this war,” adding that American taxpayers are funding it and U.S. economic prosperity is being undermined by it. 

CENTCOM has also refused to provide a count of U.S. bases attacked during the war, simply stating, “We have nothing for you.” An analysis found that bases in Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, and the United Arab Emirates have all been targeted.

Iranian strikes have forced U.S. troops to retreat from their bases to hotels and office buildings across the region. A defense official expressed anger over the Pentagon’s failure to adequately harden these bases despite the known threat. 

Retired Gen. Joseph Votel, a former head of Central Command, said the need to protect against drone attacks was identified long ago, but it has “taken far too long for the DoD to respond and provide adequate protection for our deployed troops.” Kavanagh added that the “failure to invest in hardened infrastructure was a choice” and suggested that “we would be better off if bases across the region were closed for good.”

Since the start of the Iran War, at least 15 U.S. troops have died in the Middle East, including six killed in a drone strike on Port Shuaiba, Kuwait, and one soldier who died from an “enemy attack on March 1, 2026, at Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia.” 

More than 520 U.S. personnel have also been injured. Before the current war, over 175 troops were killed or wounded in attacks following Israel’s war in Gaza starting in October 2023, including three who died in a January 2024 strike on Tower 22 in Jordan.

Contractor casualties add even more to the toll. Official U.S. statistics show almost 12,900 contractor injuries in the CENTCOM area of operations during 2024 alone, with over 3,700 serious non-fatal injuries and 18 deaths, all in Iraq. 

Meanwhile, back home, Congress approved record funding to expand deportation operations even as U.S. cities have already spent hundreds of millions on Trump’s deportation efforts. Even adding a fraction of the contractor figures to the known military numbers could push the total casualty count past 13,600, making it clear that the full human cost of this conflict is far greater than official statements suggest.