Al Jazara
روایت خاورمیانه 
On May 11, 2026, the head of the Council of Inspectors General for Administrative Health and Efficiency appointed the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Defense as the 'Senior Inspector General' to prepare the first inspection report on Operation 'Epic Fury'. This report, prepared in collaboration with the Inspectors General offices of the Department of State and the U.S. Agency for International Development, examines the military, financial, and humanitarian aspects of the Iran war.
Dimensions of the Operation and Deployment of U.S. Forces
Operation 'Epic Fury' began on February 28, 2026, with the aim of attacking the nuclear, missile, and naval facilities of the Islamic Republic and preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. The report states that by April 7, approximately 13,500 targets were attacked, and nearly 36,000 combat sorties were conducted. Additionally, over 50,000 U.S. military personnel were deployed in the region.
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The cost of the operation is estimated at $33.4 billion as of June 27, 2026, which includes $7.4 billion in incremental costs, $22.3 billion for munitions used, and $3.7 billion for lost equipment. This figure does not include the cost of repairing damaged infrastructure.
Casualties and Damage According to the Report
Casualties among U.S. forces have also been significant; from February 28 to July 9, seven military personnel died in combat operations and seven in non-hostile incidents, with 417 military personnel wounded. During this period, attacks by the Islamic Republic on U.S. bases in various countries, including Kuwait, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia, caused extensive damage, with hundreds of buildings and structures at these bases destroyed or damaged, according to the report.
Moreover, U.S. diplomatic facilities in four countries—Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates—were severely affected by these attacks, with estimated damages to these facilities around $184 million. During this time, the U.S. Department of State also directly organized the evacuation of approximately 9,000 Americans from the region.
The war has also led to serious issues in U.S. ammunition stocks. These problems include strategic shortages in inventories and serious bottlenecks in the defense industry's capacity to replace expended munitions. The Pentagon has stated that increasing production capacity will require significant time and is currently accelerating production lines and collaborating with allies to compensate for the depletion of stocks.
The U.S. government has also requested $67.1 billion in emergency funding for the Department of Defense, with $21 billion of that solely for munitions. Given these circumstances, the Secretary of Defense has warned that without this funding, shortages could threaten the ability to pay personnel salaries and continue U.S. global operations.
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