Telegraph: Iran has proven that it can drive America out of the Middle East

American bases, built for deterrence, became a target.

The Pentagon's inspector general announced that hundreds of buildings in the area's bases were damaged; These damages are consistent with satellite images from the Prince Sultan base in Saudi Arabia and the Fifth Fleet headquarters in Bahrain.

The key point is the failure of America's "forward defense" strategy, which has been based on the deployment of forces in the Persian Gulf since 1991 to deter Iran and Iraq.

The Persian Gulf countries relied on this presence in signing defense agreements, but the latest 7-month conflict destroyed those assumptions; The bases became vulnerable and the Revolutionary Guards used expensive and rare American air defense missiles by targeting them.

🔹 Now the discussion is whether it is economically and strategically beneficial to restore the American presence on the previous scale or not.