Satellite Images Reveal Iranian Naval Forces and Atomic Facilities Hit by Joint US and Israeli Attacks.
A series of American and Israeli airstrikes has according to analysis destroyed or damaged a minimum of eleven Iran's navy ships starting the weekend, recently obtained aerial photos reveal, with launch facilities and atomic facilities also being targeted.
Images of the southern Konarak naval base and the Bandar Abbas installation, which is located on the strategic Hormuz Strait and is home to the main command of the Iranian navy, reveal plumes of smoke rising from several ships on the start of the week.
Naval Fleet Incurred Substantial Damage
Among the vessels destroyed was the IRINS Makran, Iran's biggest warship which had served as a drone carrier. Aerial imagery indicated thick smoke pouring from the vessel which had been docked at the Bandar Abbas base.
Intelligence assessments indicate that no fewer than five ships at Bandar Abbas were "damaged or eliminated". Pictures of the southern part of the harbor reveal smoke rising from the IRINS Makran, while additional ships appear to be impacted, with a single one visibly ablaze.
At Konarak, photos reveal numerous damaged ships, with analysis identifying damage to six vessels. Images taken on the start of the week also demonstrate that several structures at the base have been demolished.
"For a long time the Tehran government has disrupted commercial vessels," the head of US Central Command stated. "Now, there is not one Iranian ship operational in the Arabian Gulf, Hormuz Strait or Sea of Oman, and we will not stop."
A number of vessels allegedly sunk may have been concealed in aerial photos by haze or plumes, or hit in open waters, and have not been independently verified. Other accounts suggested that a ship from Iran was going down near Sri Lankan territorial waters, leading to a search and rescue mission.
Rocket Sites and Atomic Locations Hit
The destruction of Iran's rocket sites and the stopping nuclear weapons development were listed as other objectives of the military strikes. Satellite images also showed strikes on the southerly Khorgu and northwestern Tabriz missile missile bases, and at the Konarak air base, where missile storage facilities and fortifications were hit.
Over at the Choqa Balk-e unmanned aircraft site west of Kermanshah, extensive destruction was observed to storage buildings, bunkers and UAV launching apparatus.
Damage was also seen at a radar site at the Zahedan airbase in eastern parts of the country, near the border with Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Perhaps most notably, the latest wave of strikes have apparently targeted installations at the Natanz complex – considered at the center of Iran's atomic program. An international watchdog commented that the affected buildings were used for access to the facility's underground nuclear plant and that "no release of radioactive material" was anticipated.
Broader Fallout and Assessment
Defense experts suggested that the strikes appeared to have "largely neutralized" the Iran's naval ability to sustain standard operations using its largest vessels. But, it was emphasised that Iran maintains the ability to launch irregular strikes at sea through the use of drones, mini-submarines and its so-called "ghost fleet" of oil ships.
The full extent of the damage caused to Iranian military facilities has yet to be fully assessed, with attacks said to be continuing. Pictures also shows widespread destruction to the main offices of the the IRGC in the capital Tehran.
A significant number of non-military structures also seem to have been damaged in the capital city and across Iran since the conflict escalated. Reports of deaths from local officials suggest that many hundreds of civilians may have been lost their lives in the strikes.
With the conflict ongoing, analysis of space-based data will carry on to assess the changing battlefield picture.