The Department of War (DoW) published a Jan. 23, 2026, strategy asking Middle Eastern partners to lead deterrence against Iran, a plan now set against damage to U.S. bases during the war.
The National Defense Strategy calls on regional allies and partners to take “primary responsibility for deterring and defending against Iran and its proxies.” It also preserves the department’s capacity for direct action to defend U.S. interests. The document sets out a larger role for regional governments but does not announce a U.S. withdrawal.
A Lead Inspector General report, citing U.S. Central Command, says Iranian strikes damaged or destroyed hundreds of buildings and structures at U.S. bases in Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Oman and Jordan. Dozens of U.S. aircraft were also damaged or destroyed. The report covers activity through June 30.
The DoW estimated Operation Epic Fury cost $33.4 billion as of June 29. The total included $7.4 billion in cumulative obligations, $22.3 billion for expended munitions and $3.7 billion in equipment losses. The estimate excluded infrastructure repairs. The report excluded infrastructure repairs from the estimate, saying the department had not settled its future regional posture or how much allies and partners would contribute.
In an Aug. 18 report, The Washington Post said the Pentagon was assessing its regional footprint. The newspaper reported that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had not ordered a formal posture review and quoted a senior official describing the work as “prudent planning.”
The National published a Nov. 6 commentary by University of Maryland professor Dr. Marwa Maziad, who used the 1956 Suez Crisis to question whether U.S. primacy in the region is weakening. She wrote that “national sovereignty can outlast military challenges.”
Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser brought the Suez Canal Company under Egyptian control on July 26, 1956. Israeli forces entered Sinai on Oct. 29, followed days later by British and French troops. On Nov. 6, the Eisenhower administration pressed the two governments to accept a U.N. cease-fire. The State Department’s Office of the Historian says the crisis preceded the Eisenhower Doctrine, announced in January 1957 and approved by Congress in March. It let regional countries seek U.S. economic or military assistance if threatened by armed aggression. The office links the policy to concern about diminished British and French influence and growing Soviet influence.
Qatar’s Foreign Ministry said Nov. 3 that Washington and Tehran were reviewing mediator proposals. Its spokesperson, Dr. Majed bin Mohammed Al Ansari, said there was no “specific breakthrough.”
