Pentagon exposes mass US aircraft losses and base damage from Iran war | latest news today

A landmark Pentagon report has exposed the devastating cost of the Iran war for the US military: 59 aircraft damaged or destroyed, bases struck across the Middle East, and critical missile stockpiles depleted for up to 5 years. On today’s episode of Iran: the Latest, Venetia Rainey speaks to former Defense and State Department insider Kori Schake, now a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. She unpicks how the report lays bare the underpreparedness of Donald Trump’s administration for Iran’s precision missile attacks on key US assets. They also discuss how the toll of the war has created a critical window of vulnerability that China could exploit in the Pacific if it wanted to seize Taiwan. Plus, Anthropic’s new threat report reveals how Iran and the Houthis are using Claude AI to finetune weapons and target the US Navy, Trump goes behind Saudi Arabia’s back to make a secret deal with the Yemeni militants over the Red Sea, and will Pete Hegseth be impeached? CHAPTERS 00:00:00 - Pentagon Report Reveals Cost of Iran War & US Base Damage 00:01:17 - Red Sea Escalation: Saudi Jet Downed & Houthi-US Ceasefire Deal 00:04:35 - Did Trump Betray Saudi Arabia? Analysis on US Defense Policy 00:06:03 - $38 Billion War Cost: Pentagon Shortfall & Debt Overhang 00:11:01 - Critical Interceptor Shortages: Patriot & THAAD Missile Stocks Depleted 00:14:20 - US Military Equipment Losses: F-15s, F-35s & $500M AWACS Damaged 00:16:58 - Leaked Base Damage & Calls to Impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth 00:22:41 - US War Crime Allegations: Minaret School Strike Investigation 00:25:48 - Strategic Vulnerability: How the Iran War Impacts America vs. China 0 0:28:44 - AI Security Threats: Houthis & IRGC Using Anthropic’s Claude PIC CREDIT: CBS CONTRIBUTORS: Venetia Rainey, co-host and executive producer @venetiarainey Kori Schake, director of Foreign and Defense Policy Studies at the American Enterprise Institute @KoriSchake CONTENT REFERENCED: Houthis claim to have shot down Saudi fighter jet https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-new... Akhtar Makoii: Four ways the Houthis became a major military power https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-new... US committed war crimes in Iran school strike, say UN experts https://www.telegraph.co.uk/us/news/2... CBS: New photos show widespread damage at U.S. positions caused by Iranian missile, drone attacks https://www.cbsnews.com/news/new-phot... LEAD INSPECTOR GENERAL REPORT ON OPERATION EPIC FURY https://media.defense.gov/2026/Sep/09... Anthropic: Detecting and countering misuse of AI - September 2026 https://www-cdn.anthropic.com/e50be2e... Winner Best News and Analysis Podcast - Publisher Podcast Awards 2026 Nominated Podcast of the Year - Society of Editors News Podcasts Awards 2026 Nominated Best News, Politics and Current Affairs - British Podcast Awards 2026 The Telegraph, Winner Podcast Publisher of the Year 2026 - Publisher Podcast Awards 2026 Video Producer: Max Bower Audio Producer: Peter Shevlin Researcher and Social Producer: Anna Hindmarsh Studio Operator: Andy Watson Executive Producer: Venetia Rainey ► Sign up to our most popular newsletter, From the Editor. Look forward to receiving free-thinking comment and the day's biggest stories, every morning. telegraph.co.uk/fromtheeditor ► EMAIL US: Contact the team on battlelines@telegraph.co.uk ► GET THE LATEST HEADLINES: Find all our latest Iran coverage here: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/iran-war/