Pictures show devastation at US base – Russia singled out
Published 00.31
Trump and Pentagon remain silent about Iran's attack on the US air base.
Now the extent of verified pictures is being revealed.
According to Zelensky, there is information that Russia helped in the planning.
The Prince Sultan air base is located in the desert, a few miles southeast of the Saudi capital Riyadh. On Friday, it was hit by an Iranian attack with drones and missiles.
Neither the Pentagon nor Donald Trump have commented on the attack with a word, but US media have been able to report on the extent with the help of anonymous sources. According to the Wall Street Journal, twelve US soldiers, several tanker aircraft and a special E-3 Sentry plane were injured.
It is a converted Boeing plane with a characteristic radar dome on the roof and functions as a flying control and surveillance center.
The plane is distinguished by a radar dome on the roof.
Images show the devastation
On Sunday, images were published showing how the important plane is destroyed. It is cut in half after what looks like a direct hit. Both the BBC and AFP state that the images are verified after first being leaked on social media.
The E-3 plane has been used since the Cold War and is no longer manufactured. According to the Jerusalem Post, the US has 16 of them in service, of which six were sent to the Middle East before the war. The fact that one of them is now wiped out worries American experts.
– It is a big deal. It damages the US ability to see what is happening in the Persian Gulf and maintain a good situational picture, says retired Air Force Colonel John “JV” Venable to the Wall Street Journal.
Zelensky: Russia helped
The fact that Iran was able to strike the base has already sparked discussion in the United States that the Pentagon has underestimated Iran's capabilities and that the air defense defense was too poor. On Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky threw gasoline on that fire.
In an interview with NBC News in Qatar, he said that Russia helped Iran plan the attack. He referred to Ukrainian intelligence data showing that Russian satellites took photos of the base three times during the week: March 20, March 23 and March 25.
– It is in Russia's interest to help the Iranians. This is not about something I believe. I know that they share information.
Zelensky explained what the number of photos means in this context.
– We know that if they take photos once, it is preparation. If they take photos a second time, it is a simulation. The third time means the attack is a day or two away.
Trump fumed: “Demented”
The Prince Sultan base was also bombed by Iran just over two weeks ago. Five tanker aircraft were damaged and rendered unusable, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Donald Trump went crazy over the publication and wrote in a post that four of the planes were “virtually undamaged” and that the fifth had “just a little more damage”. He dismissed the report as “fake news” with a “deliberately misleading headline” and claimed that the journalists are “sick and demented people” who “want the US to lose the war”.
According to NBC News, Trump was not informed about the attack in the daily video briefing at the White House. Instead, he learned about it through the media.
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