A joint analysis by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and the BBC for 2026 showed that Iranian strikes caused severe damage to U.S. military infrastructure. Mark Cancian, a senior advisor at the center, noted that initial reports
were insufficient to describe the scale of destruction, as the first waves of shelling paralyzed parts of key bases and destroyed advanced technical equipment. This disclosure comes at a time of rising pressure within Washington to estimate the true costs
of the war and its impact on U.S. defense capabilities in the Middle East amidst ongoing waterway tensions.
