More fresh reporting in the Wall Street Journal once again adds confirmation to this, referencing satellite imagery which shows far more serious damage at a key naval base in Bahrain than the US has publicly acknowledged.
The extensive damage… has the U.S. re-evaluating its entire footprint in the region, according to U.S. officials familiar with the deliberations.
At least a dozen US military sites across the Gulf region have been so badly damaged by Iran’s retaliation to US and Israeli attacks that their presence now creates significantly more vulnerabilities than it does benefits, a slate of Middle East experts argued on Thursday.
US military force posture across Qatar, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Jordan, and Iraq is likely to shift locations, and shrink in the Gulf overall. The remaining open question for allies and partners is if US bases are still a net benefit to their security if America’s munitions stockpiles are shallow and its air defenses limited.
Missile & drone caused damage in civilian areas of Gulf allies along with the US bases.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/15/world/middleeast/gulf-iran-war-us.html
Gulf Countries Confront Questions About Relying on U.S. for Protection
Iran targeted Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and other American allies in the Middle East during the war, harming their economies and military sectors.
“The U.S. security guarantee is no longer reliable in the way they thought it was,” said Sanam Vakil, the director of the Middle East and North Africa program at Chatham House, a London-based think tank.
It’s not easy being a U.S. ally in the Gulf
Iran could ‘access’ $300B for rebuilding under US deal — funded by Gulf states attacked by Tehran
Iran is poised to attract up to $300 billion in investments from the very Gulf states it targeted with drones and missiles throughout the more than three-month-old war — if it can get its act together, Vice President JD Vance said Monday.
Is this anyway to treat a US “ally”? Talk about adding insult to injury. Gulf nations now realize there is no cost-benefit analysis to be made in the US relationship. It is all cost!
I expect US economic trade with these nations will be effected by such a treatment.