Former CIA Director David Petraeus has admitted that maintaining functioning United States bases in the eastern Gulf states is ”no longer viable.”
In an interview with Global Gambit, the retired Army general cited Iran’s attacks on U.S. bases, saying the military locations and critical infrastructure were used as “leverage.”
Petraeus, however, noted that America has used “perhaps half of our missile interceptors” in the Iran conflict, urging a shift to inexpensive drones.
“We need to learn from the Ukrainians, who are using 10,000 cheap drones per day,” he said. “The exchange that they’re getting for those is absolutely massive.”
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“Ukrainians have hit all these oil storage and refinery capabilities. They’ve hit every single refinery within 3,000 kilometers of Ukraine.”
Petraeus insists the cost the U.S. incurred by shooting an expensive missile interceptor to take down a $50,000 Iranian drone “is obviously not one that is sustainable.”
U.S. bases and facilities Iran targeted in recent months include the Marine Corps site, King Hussein Base, Prince Hassan Air Base, and Al Azraq Base, all in Jordan.
Others were Ahmed Al Jaber Air Base and Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait, as well as the Navy Fifth Fleet assets at the Sheikh Isa Air Base in Bahrain.
Also hit were Al Minhad Air Base and Al Dhafra Air Base in the UAE, Al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar—the largest U.S. installation in the region—and facilities and warehouses in Erbil, Iraq.
Over the weekend, the IRGC Navy confirmed that U.S. forces attacked three Iranian oil tankers near the Strait of Hormuz, causing damage.
The military unit revealed Iranian forces responded by targeting three tankers allegedly using prohibited routes and three U.S.-linked vessels elsewhere.
A statement by the Navy warned vessels in the Persian Gulf and around the Hormuz Strait could be targeted if they entered unauthorized waterways.
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