NBC says Iran’s damage to U.S. bases is far worse than the Pentagon admitted, and the White House is blocking satellite images to keep it that way

American bases in the Middle East suffered far more damage from recent Iranian strikes than officials have publicly admitted. Reports now indicate that the White House has been asking private satellite companies not to publish images of the affected sites, effectively hiding the scale of destruction from the public.

According to NBC News, this came to light after Planet Labs sent an email to its customers on April 4, saying its 14-day blackout of the affected areas was being extended. In the past, publicly available satellite images had allowed clear before-and-after comparisons of U.S. military sites, so restricting them cuts off a key source of information.

The American Enterprise Institute, along with congressional aides and U.S. officials, found that Iran successfully struck more than 100 targets across 11 U.S. bases in countries including Saudi Arabia and Qatar. An Iranian F-5 fighter jet reportedly broke through U.S. air defenses and hit a base in Kuwait, something two officials described as the first time an enemy fixed-wing aircraft has struck an American military base in years.

The financial and human cost of the Iran strikes appears to be far greater than what the Pentagon has officially stated

An American E-3 Sentry aircraft was also destroyed by an Iranian drone at Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia on March 29. The financial damage from the strikes is estimated to be well over $5 billion. The Pentagon currently lists 13 service members killed and nearly 400 troops injured, though some reports suggest the real casualty numbers may be even higher than these official figures.

Lawmakers are growing frustrated with the lack of clear information coming from the administration. One Republican congressional aide told NBC, “No one knows anything. And it’s not for lack of asking.” The aide added, “We have been asking for weeks and not getting specifics, even as the Pentagon is asking for a record high budget.” There are also separate claims worth noting. Zelenskyy told NBC he is confident Russia fed Iran the satellite intel used to target the Saudi base days before the strike.

This stands in sharp contrast to what officials were saying publicly in March. At the time, statements included, “There’s almost nothing they can militarily do about it,” and, “Yes, they will still shoot some missiles, but we will shoot them down.” Evidence now suggests that a significant number of Iranian missiles successfully got past U.S. defenses.

When NBC asked for comment on the damage, an official responded, “We do not discuss battle damage assessments for operation security reasons. Our forces remain fully operational, and we continue to execute our mission with the same readiness and combat effectiveness.” 

Meanwhile, Trump told NBC he won’t make a deal with Iran despite Iran expressing interest in one, while refusing to say what terms would end the war. The gap between what officials are saying and what actually happened on the ground continues to grow as more details come to light.