Space-Based Pictures Show Iranian Navy and Nuclear Sites Targeted by US-Israeli Attacks.
Multiple US and Israeli strikes has reportedly destroyed or damaged a minimum of 11 warships belonging to Iran since Saturday, new aerial photos reveal, with launch facilities and enrichment plants also being targeted.
Photographs of the southern Konarak military port and the Bandar Abbas installation, which is located on the Strait of Hormuz and is home to the headquarters of the Iran's naval force, reveal smoke billowing from multiple vessels on the start of the week.
Naval Forces Sustained Significant Losses
Included in the ships sunk was the IRINS Makran, the country's biggest warship which had served as a drone carrier. Satellite images showed black smoke rising from the ship which had been stationed at the Bandar Abbas base.
Analytical assessments state that at least a quintet of warships at Bandar Abbas were "damaged or eliminated". Photos of the southern end of the harbor show plumes ascending from the Makran, while two other ships seem to be damaged, with one of them seen burning.
Over at Konarak, images show several damaged ships, with analysis identifying strikes against six ships. Images from the start of the week also indicate that a number of buildings at the installation have been demolished.
"For many years the Tehran government has threatened commercial vessels," the head of US Central Command stated. "Today, there is not one vessel from Iran operational in the Persian Gulf, Hormuz Strait or Gulf of Oman, and we will persist."
A number of ships allegedly sunk may have been hidden in aerial photos by weather conditions or battle damage, or struck at sea, and have yet to be fully confirmed. Additional information stated that an Iranian vessel was going down off the coast of Sri Lankan waters, prompting a rescue operation.
Rocket Installations and Nuclear Locations Hit
Eliminating Iranian missile bases and the prevention of atomic bomb programs were listed as further objectives of the offensive. Aerial imagery also depicted strikes on the southerly Khorgu base and north-western Tabriz missile bases, and at the Konarak air base, where rocket warehouses and fortifications were targeted.
At the Choqa Balk-e drone UAV facility west of the city of Kermanshah, widespread destruction was observed to warehouses, underground facilities and drone launch equipment.
Impact was also seen at a surveillance station at the Zahedan airbase military airport in eastern Iran, near the frontier with Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Significantly, the latest wave of strikes have reportedly focused on sites at the Natanz complex – widely believed to be at the center of the country's atomic program. A global monitoring agency stated that the damaged buildings were used for access to the site's below-ground nuclear plant and that "no radiological consequence" was anticipated.
Wider Fallout and Analysis
Military analysts indicated that the attacks appeared to have "largely neutralized" the Iran's naval capacity to conduct conventional attacks using its biggest warships. But, it was stressed that Iran retains the ability to launch unconventional attacks at sea through the use of drones, midget subs and its so-called "ghost fleet" of tankers.
The full scope of the destruction caused to Iranian military facilities is still uncertain, with hostilities reportedly continuing. Imagery also reveals considerable damage to the main offices of the Iran's Revolutionary Guards in the capital Tehran.
Numerous of public facilities also are reported to have been struck in the capital city and across Iran after the fighting started. Toll estimates from local officials suggest that a high number of non-combatants may have been fatally injured in the attacks.
With the conflict ongoing, review of satellite imagery will continue to document the unfolding military landscape.