Satellite Pictures Depict Iran's Navy and Nuclear Facilities Targeted by US-Israeli Airstrikes.
A wave of US and Israeli strikes has according to analysis eliminated or harmed a minimum of 11 Iranian naval vessels starting the weekend, new aerial photos reveal, with missile bases and atomic facilities also coming under fire.
Photographs of the southern Konarak naval naval base and the Bandar Abbas port facility, which overlooks the Strait of Hormuz and is home to the main command of the Iranian navy, show black smoke pouring from a number of vessels on the start of the week.
Naval Forces Sustained Substantial Damage
Among the vessels destroyed was the IRINS Makran, the country's most sizable ship which had been used as a drone carrier. Satellite images indicated thick smoke emanating from the vessel which had been docked at the Bandar Abbas base.
Intelligence reports suggest that at least five vessels at the port were "damaged or eliminated". Photos of the south end of the port depict smoke rising from the IRINS Makran, while additional vessels appear to be impacted, with one of them visibly ablaze.
At the Konarak base, photos reveal numerous damaged ships, with analysis pointing to damage to six ships. Pictures taken on the start of the week also indicate that a number of structures at the installation have been destroyed.
"For a long time the Tehran government has harassed international shipping," a senior US military official declared. "Now, there is not a single Iranian vessel at sea in the Persian Gulf, Hormuz Strait or Gulf of Oman, and we will not stop."
Some ships allegedly destroyed may have been obscured in aerial photos by haze or plumes, or hit in open waters, and have not been independently verified. Additional information suggested that an Iranian vessel was foundering off the coast of Sri Lankan waters, resulting in a search and rescue mission.
Rocket Bases and Nuclear Facilities Attacked
Neutralizing Iran's rocket sites and the stopping enrichment activities were declared as other goals of the military strikes. Aerial imagery also showed strikes on the southerly Khorgu and north-western Tabriz missile missile bases, and at the Konarak base, where rocket warehouses and fortifications were hit.
At the Choqa Balk-e drone unmanned aircraft site to the west of the city of Kermanshah, significant damage was observed to warehouses, underground facilities and drone launch equipment.
Destruction was also noted at a surveillance station at the Zahedan airbase military airport in eastern Iran, close to the border with Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Perhaps most notably, the latest wave of strikes have apparently focused on facilities at the Natanz complex – widely believed to be at the center of Iran's atomic program. The UN's atomic energy body commented that the affected structures were used for entry to the facility's underground enrichment facility and that "no nuclear fallout" was likely.
Broader Impact and Assessment
Observers stated that the strikes appeared to have "largely neutralized" the Iranian navy's capacity to conduct traditional warfare using its biggest warships. Nevertheless, it was stressed that Iran still has the capacity to launch irregular strikes at sea through the use of unmanned aerial vehicles, mini-submarines and its so-called "ghost fleet" of oil ships.
The full scale of the destruction caused to Iranian military facilities remains unclear, with hostilities said to be ongoing. Imagery also reveals extensive damage to the headquarters of the the IRGC in the capital Tehran.
Numerous of non-military structures also are reported to have been struck in the capital city and throughout Iran since the fighting began. Casualty figures from local officials indicate that a high number of non-combatants may have been lost their lives in the attacks.
With the conflict ongoing, monitoring of satellite imagery will carry on to track the unfolding scope of damage.