Questions are growing over how much damage Iran actually inflicted on American military installations in the Middle East after a new report suggested the public account may have left out some of the most serious blows. At the centre of the claims is an allegation that anIranian F-5 fighter jetbombed Camp Buehring in Kuwait despite the base having air defences, a breach that would mark a major lapse at a heavily protected site.

TheNBC News reportdraws on findings from the conservative think tank American Enterprise Institute, as well as interviews with three US officials, two congressional aides and another person familiar with the damage. It also raises fresh scrutiny over whether the Trump administration has disclosed the full scale of the military and human cost from Iran's retaliatory strikes.

According to the report, Iran struck more than 100 targets across 11 US bases in the Middle East, including sites in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait. Two officials told NBC News that the F-5 incident was 'the first time an enemy fixed-wing aircraft has struck an American military base in years.'

That claim stands in sharp contrast to remarksDefence Secretary Pete Hegsethmade at a30 March Pentagon briefing, when he told reporters that Iran's missiles would not make it to their targets. 'There is almost nothing they can militarily do about it. Yes, they will still shoot some missiles, but we will shoot them down.'

AEI's assessment, according to the report, estimated that Iran caused well over £3.7 billion ($5 billion) in damage during the strikes. That figure comes on top of the deaths of 13 service members and injuries to nearly 400 troops, based on the Pentagon's count.

The findings have added weight to concerns that the publicly available picture of the conflict has been incomplete. NBC News reported that a notable number of Iranian missiles made it through US and allied defences, undercutting earlier official assurances.

🇮🇷🇺🇸 Iran hit U.S. bases harder than anyone’s saying.NBC News says the real damage is way bigger than what’s been made public, based on U.S. officials and congressional aides.We’re talking repeated hits on installations and equipment across the Gulf.At one point, even an…https://t.co/7kA8nSgxbmpic.twitter.com/vZ42qbrGc0

Republican lawmakers have raised concerns about limited disclosure, according to the NBC News report. One Republican congressional aide told NBC News, 'No one knows anything. And it's not for lack of asking. We have been asking for weeks and not getting specifics, even as the Pentagon is asking for a record high budget.'

President Donald Trump, 79, had previously dismissed the idea that Iran could inflict such damage. He maintained on Friday that Iran had 'been obliterated.' He added on Saturday that Washington had 'all the cards' in peace negotiations.

The Pentagon did not respond to a request for comment, but an official told NBC News, 'We do not discuss battle damage assessments for operation security reasons. Our forces remain fully operational, and we continue to execute our mission with the same readiness and combat effectiveness.' The White House and AEI also did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Source: International Business Times UK