The U.S. Navy is reassessing the future of its longstanding headquarters in Bahrain after Iranian attacks damaged the facility during the war, with acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao acknowledging the extent of the impact in unusually direct terms.
"They blew the hell out of Bahrain," Cao told The Epoch Times on Septemper 9, referring to Iranian attacks on Naval Support Activity Bahrain, from which the Navy has traditionally managed its Middle East fleet operations.
Cao's remarks marked a direct official acknowledgment that the installation was damaged after Iran began targeting it following U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28. Asked whether the Navy would have to repair the base to sustain its regional forces, Cao told the outlet, "I have a task force that's looking at that."
The review comes as the Navy remains unable to resume normal operations at the Bahrain installation. Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Daryl Caudle said at an August 31 town hall that the service did not plan to return to the base "anytime soon," while the conflict has also disrupted traditional U.S. military supply hubs elsewhere in the region.
The damage has renewed questions about whether permanent U.S. installations close to Iran remain viable as Tehran deploys missiles and drones capable of reaching them. Retired Gen. David Petraeus, a former head of U.S. Central Command, said last month that existing U.S. outposts in the region "are no longer viable."
The acknowledgment comes amid another escalation in the seven-month conflict. U.S. and Iranian forces this week exchanged their largest attacks on shipping since the war began, with Washington striking Iranian tankers and Tehran targeting ships near the Strait of Hormuz and launching missiles toward a base hosting U.S. forces in Jordan.
President Donald Trump nevertheless said Thursday that he had no regrets about launching the war. "If I had it to do again, I would do exactly what I did," he told Fox News. Trump also maintained that Iran cannot sustain the conflict much longer and predicted the war would end "immediately after" November's midterm elections.
