Satellite Imagery Depict Iran's Naval Forces and Nuclear Facilities Hit by Joint US and Israeli Attacks.
Multiple American and Israeli airstrikes has reportedly destroyed or damaged at least 11 warships belonging to Iran starting the weekend, new orbital imagery show, with missile bases and enrichment plants also coming under fire.
Photographs of the southern Konarak naval military port and the Bandar Abbas port installation, which overlooks the strategic Hormuz Strait and is home to the headquarters of the Iran's naval force, depict plumes of smoke rising 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 dark plumes rising from the vessel which had been moored at the Bandar Abbas naval base.
Analytical evaluations state that no fewer than five vessels at the port were "hit or sunk". Photos of the southern end of the port depict plumes ascending from the Makran, while another pair of ships seem to be harmed, with one of them clearly on fire.
Over at Konarak, photos reveal multiple stricken vessels, with analysis pointing to strikes against a half-dozen warships. Pictures from Monday also indicate that multiple structures at the installation have been destroyed.
"For many years the Iranian regime has disrupted global maritime traffic," a senior US military official declared. "Today, there is not a single Iranian vessel at sea in the Arabian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz or Gulf of Oman, and we will not stop."
A number of vessels reportedly sunk may have been obscured in aerial photos by weather conditions or battle damage, or struck at sea, and have not been independently verified. Other accounts suggested that an Iranian vessel was sinking near Sri Lanka's territorial waters, prompting a search and rescue mission.
Missile Installations and Nuclear Locations Hit
Neutralizing Iran's rocket sites and the stopping atomic bomb programs were declared as additional objectives of the military strikes. Aerial imagery also revealed strikes on the southern Khorgu base and north-western Tabriz missile missile bases, and at the Konarak air base, where missile storage facilities and bunkers were struck.
At the Choqa Balk-e UAV facility west of Kermanshah, extensive destruction was observed to sheds, bunkers and drone launch equipment.
Destruction was also observed at a radar site at the Zahedan airbase in eastern Iran, close to the border with Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Of particular note, the new round of attacks have apparently hit facilities at the Natanz complex – considered at the heart of Iran's nuclear programme. A global monitoring agency commented that the damaged structures were used for entry to the facility's underground nuclear plant and that "no release of radioactive material" was likely.
Wider Consequences and Assessment
Defense experts indicated that the strikes appeared to have "greatly reduced" the Iran's naval ability to sustain standard operations using its largest vessels. However, it was noted that Tehran maintains the ability to launch irregular strikes at sea through the use of unmanned aerial vehicles, small submarines and its so-called "ghost fleet" of tankers.
The overall scope of the damage caused to Iranian military facilities remains unclear, with strikes reportedly continuing. Pictures also indicates considerable damage to the main offices of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in the capital Tehran.
Numerous of public facilities also appear to have been damaged in the capital city and across the country after the conflict started. Toll estimates from ground sources state that many hundreds of civilians may have been killed in the attacks.
Amid continuing hostilities, review of aerial photographs will persist to assess the changing military landscape.