Iranian missile and drone attacks caused significant damage to the U.S. Navy's main base in Bahrain during the recent conflict, prompting the Pentagon to consider relocating some military assets and reassessing its broader Middle East footprint, the Wall Street Journal reported.
According to the report, Naval Support Activity Bahrain, the hub of U.S. naval operations in the Middle East, was targeted repeatedly between late February and June.
The strikes damaged the headquarters building for the U.S. Navy in the region, communications facilities, satellite communications terminals and several other structures.
The Pentagon has not publicly disclosed the extent of the damage. The U.S. military has said no personnel were killed at the Bahrain base and that operations were not significantly affected. Most personnel were evacuated during the conflict, although a smaller contingent remains on site.
U.S. Central Command spokesperson Captain Tim Hawkins said the military had prioritised protecting personnel over infrastructure and that the strategy had succeeded. He said Iran had launched more than 8,000 missiles and drones during the war, resulting in only two U.S. fatalities, while U.S. forces struck more than 13,500 targets.
The damage sustained at the Bahrain facility, along with attacks on at least 20 U.S. military and diplomatic sites across the Middle East, has prompted the Pentagon to reassess its regional military posture, the Journal reported, citing U.S. officials familiar with the discussions.
Options under consideration reportedly include redesigning the Bahrain base, reducing the U.S. presence in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, relocating some military functions farther west and dispersing capabilities across multiple locations to reduce vulnerability to future attacks.
Israel is among the locations being considered for hosting additional U.S. military assets, according to the report.
The Journal estimated that rebuilding damaged facilities at the Bahrain base alone could cost about $400 million, based on Defence Department construction models and procurement data. The estimate does not include additional expenses such as debris removal or facility upgrades.
The Pentagon did not immediately provide a public estimate of the overall cost of damage to U.S. military installations during the conflict. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has previously declined to discuss the issue in detail before Congress.
The Center for Strategic and International Studies estimated this week that the war cost roughly $40 billion in total, including between $2.2 billion and $5.1 billion in damage to U.S. military bases, according to the Journal report.
By Aghakazim Guliyev
