How Iran targeted US air-defence network in the Gulf: Report

File photo: US bases in Gulf become Achilles heel as Iran inflicts 'unprecedented damage' An analysis of satellite imagery carried out by the Associated Press has found that Iran’s retaliation against US military installations across the Middle East focused first on the systems designed to detect incoming attacks, before expanding to aircraft, warehouses and troop facilities.The strikes damaged or destroyed structures at 26 US military bases and other sites holding American equipment, with the scale of the damage prompting Washington to move aircraft, air defence systems and other assets out of the Persian Gulf, according to regional officials cited by the AP.The analysis independently verified damage using satellite imagery from multiple providers and drew on interviews with four regional officials who were briefed on the attacks or had direct knowledge of the sites. It identified more than 115 drone and missile strikes, claimed by Iran or Iranian-backed militias, that damaged or destroyed structures at the 26 locations through August.Iran initially concentrated on aircraft hangars and systems used to detect incoming strikes, the AP found, before widening its attacks to warehouses...