US Failed to Intercept all Recent Iranian Strikes on Bases: WSJ

By Al Mayadeen English

9 Jul 2026 23:01

US and allied defenses did not intercept all recent Iranian strikes on bases in Kuwait and Bahrain, WSJ reports, amid a pattern of downplayed damage.

US and allied defenses failed to intercept every recent Iranian strike on US military installations in Kuwait and Bahrain, according to a Wall Street Journal report published Thursday that cited US officials.

The report also claimed that the strikes resulted in no casualties and caused only limited damage.

Nonetheless, the reported gaps in interception fit a broader pattern seen throughout the war, where initial statements from Washington and host governments have often minimized damage from Iranian strikes, only for commercial satellite imagery to later tell a different story.

Outlets including the New York Times, ABC News, and BBC Verify have documented impact craters and damaged infrastructure at Gulf facilities following strikes officials had initially called contained, including at Bahrain's Fifth Fleet headquarters and Jebel Ali port in the UAE.

Separate investigations comparing Iranian-released satellite imagery with independent Western sources found the destruction across roughly 18 sites in seven host countries to be genuine and consistent with Iran's claims, undercutting claims that Tehran's imagery was propaganda.

Largest round of US attacks since signing MoU

The latest developments follow what Al Mayadeen's correspondent in Tehran described as the largest US military assault on Iran since the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between Washington and Tehran. US bombardment reached five Iranian provinces over two days, killing 14 people and wounding 78 others, according to figures released by Iran's Ministry of Health.

In response, Iran's Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) launched a multi-phase retaliation. The first phase involved a joint strike by IRGC naval and aerospace forces just hours after the US attacks, targeting infrastructure at four bases: Camp Arifjan and Ali Al Salem in Kuwait, and Juffair and Sheikh Isa Air Base in Bahrain.

The IRGC later announced a second phase of retaliation, revealing it had used 10 ballistic missiles to destroy a US command and control center in West Asia along with the Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan. Jordanian authorities had reported air raid sirens across the country after detecting Iranian missiles in its airspace, while the US Embassy in Amman urged American citizens to shelter in place.

In its statement, the IRGC warned that any repeat of US aggression would draw an even wider response, cautioning that no US base in the region would be spared. It reiterated that Iran had long warned that any attack on its territory would trigger an immediate and expanded retaliation.