Aerial Photographs Depict Iran's Navy and Nuclear Sites Targeted by Joint US and Israeli Attacks.
A series of joint attacks has reportedly eliminated or harmed at least eleven Iran's navy ships starting Saturday, new satellite images demonstrate, with missile bases and nuclear sites also being targeted.
Images of the southern Konarak naval naval base and the Bandar Abbas port installation, which is located on the Strait of Hormuz and houses the main command of the Iranian navy, show black smoke pouring from several ships on recent days.
Naval Forces Incurred Major Losses
Included in the vessels destroyed was the Makran, Iran's largest naval vessel which had served as a unmanned aerial vehicle platform. Aerial imagery indicated thick smoke pouring from the vessel which had been moored at the Bandar Abbas base.
Intelligence assessments indicate that no fewer than five vessels at the port were "hit or sunk". Pictures of the southern end of the harbor show smoke emanating from the Makran, while another pair of ships are visibly impacted, with one seen burning.
Over at the Konarak base, images display several harmed vessels, with intelligence reports pointing to impacts on six ships. Photos taken on Monday also demonstrate that multiple buildings at the base have been demolished.
"For a long time the Iranian regime has disrupted global maritime traffic," an American commander stated. "At present, there is not a single vessel from Iran underway in the Arabian Gulf, Hormuz Strait or Gulf of Oman, and we will persist."
Some vessels reportedly destroyed may have been concealed in satellite images by haze or plumes, or struck at sea, and have yet to be fully confirmed. Additional information indicated that one Iranian ship was going down off the coast of Sri Lanka's waters, leading to a rescue operation.
Rocket Sites and Atomic Locations Targeted
The destruction of Iranian missile bases and the hindering of nuclear weapons development were listed as further goals of the air campaign. Aerial imagery also revealed strikes on the southern Khorgu and northwestern Tabriz missile bases, and at the Konarak air air base, where missile storage facilities and bunkers were targeted.
At the Choqa Balk-e drone drone base to the west of the city of Kermanshah, extensive damage was observed to storage buildings, underground facilities and UAV launching apparatus.
Damage was also observed at a radar installation at the Zahedan airbase airbase in eastern parts of the country, close to the border with neighboring nations.
Significantly, the new round of strikes have reportedly focused on facilities at the Natanz complex – long said to be at the core of Iran's enrichment efforts. The UN's atomic energy body commented that the affected structures were used for access to the facility's below-ground nuclear plant and that "no radiological consequence" was anticipated.
Wider Fallout and Assessment
Military analysts indicated that the offensive appeared to have "greatly reduced" the Iranian navy's ability to carry out conventional attacks using its biggest vessels. But, it was noted that Tehran retains the capacity to launch irregular strikes at sea through the use of drones, mini-submarines and its so-called "ghost fleet" of tankers.
The full scale of the destruction caused to Iran's defense infrastructure has yet to be fully assessed, with hostilities said to be continuing. Photos also reveals considerable damage to the command center of the Iran's Revolutionary Guards in the city of Tehran.
A large number of public facilities also seem to have been struck in the capital city and throughout Iran since the fighting escalated. Casualty figures from ground sources suggest that many hundreds of non-combatants may have been killed in the attacks.
Amid continuing hostilities, analysis of space-based data will continue to assess the unfolding scope of damage.