New evidence blows up Trump’s war story

There is a huge amount of destruction in the Middle East after the bombing campaigns between Iran and the United States. The damage is far more extensive than the Pentagon is allowing Americans to believe.

The BBC Monday said that the Islamic Republic has cost the U.S. billions of dollars in damage to at least 20, and as many as 28, military sites across eight countries.

Both Trump and his Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, have claimed that the U.S. "obliterated" Iran's unclear program last year. Meanwhile, the Pentagon has asked owners of the public satellite website, Planet, to stop showing images of the region.

“The U.S. is only known to operate eight of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) batteries, which are deployed at bases around the globe and cost around $1bn to manufacture,” the BBC report explained. “Each battery needs a crew of about 100 troops to operate it while the interceptors it fires cost around $12.7 million per round.”

The Trump administration told the Senate during a hearing last month that it will need $29 billion for "Operation Epic Fury." Democrats don't see how it could possibly cost that and instead insist that it will cost far more.

The report also found that "at least 42 aircraft - including F-15 and F-35 fighter jets, 24 MQ-9 Reaper drones and an A-10 attack plane - have been destroyed or damaged since February."

Meanwhile, Iran is paying very little. While the U.S. is blowing expensive machines and artillery, "Iran has reportedly made use of cheap, easily replaceable drones in its attacks on targets across the Middle East," the BBC said.

"[Iran's] opening salvos were optimized for volume — mass waves designed to overwhelm air and missile defenses through sheer numbers," Dr. Kelly Grieco, an analyst with the US-based Stimson Center think tank, told the BBC.

"Within days, however, Iran had shifted to smaller, more precisely targeted salvos, conserving remaining missiles and drones for specific high-value targets and concentrating fire where even near-misses cause significant damage," Grieco continued.

"The current conflict has consumed US and partner air defense stocks at a significant rate," she said.

"There is no rapid path to replenishment, meaning any renewed Iranian assault would be met with a fraction of the interceptors available when the conflict started," Grieco warned.

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