Acting US Navy Secretary Hung Cao has offered an unusually blunt public admission that Iranian strikes caused extensive damage to the US Navy’s principal Middle East base in Bahrain, a comment that stands in contrast to the Trump administration’s broader narrative of having decisively degraded Iran’s military capabilities during this year’s conflict.
Iran-US War Latest Live News: What Did US Navy Secretary Say?
Speaking to The Epoch Times on Tuesday as he concluded a visit to a shipyard in Philadelphia, Cao said plainly of the damage inflicted on the base, “They blew the hell out of Bahrain.” The remark, delivered in an interview with reporter Ryan Morgan, was described by several outlets as among the most direct acknowledgements yet from a senior US defence official of the scale of the damage sustained at the facility during the fighting.
Iran-US War Latest Live News: What Happened To The Bahrain Base?
Naval Support Activity Bahrain, located in Manama, serves as the headquarters of the US Fifth Fleet and functions as the Navy’s main command, logistics, maintenance and supply hub for operations across the Gulf under US Central Command.
Iranian forces began targeting the installation after the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran on 28 February, with satellite imagery reviewed by several outlets showing extensive damage to buildings and infrastructure, including radar domes, inside the base. No detailed reconstruction timetable had been announced as of Friday.
Iran-US War Latest Live News: How Has The Attack Affected US Operations?
Cao indicated the damage had left the Navy unable to bring the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln into the base for its usual resupply and support, forcing the vessel to remain at sea for an extended period, during which reports emerged of strained conditions and low morale among its crew. Asked whether the Navy would need to rebuild the facility to sustain its regional presence, Cao said, “I have a task force that’s looking at that,” suggesting no final decision has yet been made on whether or how to restore full operations at the site.
Iran-US War Latest Live News: How Did Iran Respond?
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi seized on Cao’s remarks within hours, posting on social media that Tehran appreciated the candour of Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao, before asserting that Iran’s armed forces had indeed struck the Fifth Fleet headquarters in Bahrain as well as other bases supporting what he described as US aggression. Araghchi added that the American public deserved better than paying the cost of the conflict, framing the exchange as validation of Iran’s own claims about the effectiveness of its strikes.
Iran-US War Latest Live News: What Are Analysts Saying?
The admission has drawn attention from national security analysts who have long questioned the accuracy of official US assessments of the war’s progress. Trita Parsi of the Quincy Institute wrote that a recurring pattern in the conflict had been the Iranians inflicting tremendous strategic damage with their missiles, only for the US government to acknowledge the extent of it weeks or months later, arguing this had created a prolonged false impression that the war was going better than it actually was. Separately, retired national security consultant and Marine veteran Jim Webb told The Epoch Times that the current US force posture in the region is unsustainable without continuing to be under attack, questioning whether bases like NSA Bahrain could be adequately defended in the medium or long term while remaining permanently exposed to Iranian strikes.
Iran-US War Latest Live News: What Happens Next For The Base?
With Cao’s task force still assessing the way forward, the episode has reopened a broader debate within US defence circles over the long-term viability of maintaining fixed American military installations across the Gulf, given their vulnerability to sustained missile and drone attack. Cao, whose nomination for the permanent role of Navy Secretary remains before Congress, has not indicated when a decision on Bahrain’s future is likely to be reached, leaving the base’s role in future US naval operations in the region unresolved for now.
