Two US officials familiar with operations in the Middle East told The Intercept that the prolonged conflict has placed severe strain on US forces, citing Iranian attacks, depleted defensive-munition stockpiles, maintenance problems, extended deployments and growing logistical challenges.

The scale of US casualties has also emerged gradually through official disclosures and media reports.

The Pentagon inspector general’s latest report, covering operations through June 30, documented more than 400 US service members wounded, while the Pentagon has acknowledged losses and injuries resulting from Iranian reciprocal attacks. Separate reporting has since increased the number of US service members killed in Iranian defensive measures.

The figures highlight the gap between official assurances about the impact of the aggression on Iran and evidence contained in US government assessments.

The inspector general reported that Iranian strikes damaged or destroyed hundreds of buildings and structures at US military bases in Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Oman and Jordan. It also reported damage to dozens of US aircraft, including fighter jets, refueling aircraft and MQ-9 Reaper drones.

In Bahrain, an Iranian attack severely damaged Naval Support Activity Bahrain, a key US logistics hub and the headquarters of the Fifth Fleet.

US officials initially downplayed the operational impact, but Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao later acknowledged the extent of the damage, while Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Daryl Caudle said the Navy was not expected to return to the facility soon.

Meanwhile, the US military has been forced to rely more heavily on distant logistical routes, including support from Diego Garcia, as attacks have affected regional bases and ports.

The prolonged deployments have also placed additional pressure on US naval forces.

The USS Gerald R. Ford completed an 11-month deployment, while the USS Abraham Lincoln spent most of a nine-month deployment at sea with limited port access, amid reports of morale and supply problems.

Beyond personnel and infrastructure losses, the aggression on Iran has sharply reduced US weapons inventories.

A Pentagon inspector general report said the expenditure of munitions during the so-called Operation Epic Fury had resulted in “strategic inventory shortfalls” and exposed “industrial base bottlenecks” affecting resupply. The operation cost an estimated $33.4 billion through June 30, including $22.3 billion in munitions.

The depletion has been particularly significant for missile-defense systems.

An analysis cited by The National found that Patriot interceptor stocks fell from about 2,330 before the conflict to fewer than 850, while THAAD inventories declined from 452 to about 250.

Despite these findings, US President Donald Trump and War Secretary Pete Hegseth have repeatedly rejected reports that US forces face critical shortages.

The Pentagon inspector general’s findings, however, provide the most extensive official accounting so far of the military and financial costs of the ongoing war on Iran, including casualties, damaged infrastructure, destroyed or damaged aircraft and depleted strategic weapons inventories.