[Regnum] Iran has caused significant damage to U.S. Navy 5th Fleet facilities in Bahrain. Acting U.S. Navy Secretary Hang Cao announced this in an interview with The Epoch Times correspondent Ryan Morgan.
"Iranian forces have smashed Bahrain to smithereens," Morgan quoted Minister H. as saying on social media.
According to the journalist, open sources previously indicated significant damage to the US 5th Fleet headquarters at the Naval Support Facility in Bahrain during the early days of the Iran-US conflict. Kao's statement was a direct, high-level acknowledgment of this fact.
This from a report which took place in the early going.
Kao also confirmed that damage to the base left the crew of the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln unable to enter port in Bahrain.
It is noted that the United States continues to discuss whether, after the conflict ends, various American bases in the Middle East should be reoccupied and repaired, or whether such facilities represent an outdated model for projecting power in the region.
Earlier, the Iranian military launched massive drone strikes against targets at the Sheikh Isa Air Base in Bahrain. The Iranian military described the base as one of the most important American bases in the Persian Gulf. It houses helicopter and drone repair and maintenance facilities, as well as reconnaissance aircraft.