Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi cited a U.S. report on Operation Epic Fury to push back against portrayals of Iran as defenseless, pointing to damage to U.S. military facilities and aircraft during the conflict.
Araghchi Pushes Back on Iran’s Military Weakness
On Tuesday, Araghchi wrote on X that the claim “Iran is defenseless” was “Fiction,” while asserting that “100s of U.S. military sites” were “blown to pieces” and “dozens of aircraft” were “scorched.”
He added, “And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. We’ll reveal it all in due course.”
Araghchi further said, “For those who’ve sold lies about Iran, it won’t be pretty.”
US Report Details Aircraft Damage
He attached an image from a U.S. report detailing damage to U.S. military facilities and equipment during the conflict.
The report says U.S. Central Command reported that Iranian strikes damaged or destroyed hundreds of buildings and structures at U.S. bases in Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Oman and Jordan.
The attached image also includes Table 5, “U.S. Aircraft Damaged or Destroyed During OEF.”
The table lists four F-15Es destroyed, one F-35A damaged by enemy fire over Iran and seven KC-135 refueling aircraft damaged or destroyed.
It also lists one E-3 damaged by Iranian strikes and as many as 30 MQ-9 aircraft destroyed in various circumstances.
US-Iran Tensions Escalate
Earlier this month, President Donald Trump ordered fresh U.S. strikes on Iranian targets as Tehran retaliated against American positions across the Middle East.
The U.S. military targeted Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps assets, including air-defense systems, radar sites, maritime equipment, mine-laying capabilities and communications facilities.
Iran responded with missile and drone attacks against U.S. forces in Jordan, Bahrain and Iraq.
Last month, U.S. forces struck Iranian rocket launchers on Larak Island after detecting preparations to fire sea mines into the Strait of Hormuz. Iran responded with attacks on U.S. bases in Jordan.
Iran was also reportedly considering expanding potential attacks to U.S. military assets in southeastern Europe, including Bulgaria’s Bezmer air base and facilities in Cyprus.
Iranian forces had also considered targeting subsea fiber-optic cables in the Strait of Hormuz if the conflict escalated.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
Image via Shutterstock/ A.PAES
