Satellite Pictures Show Iran's Naval Forces and Atomic Facilities Hit by US-Israeli Airstrikes.
Multiple joint attacks has according to analysis sunk or crippled at least 11 warships belonging to Iran since Saturday, new aerial photos reveal, with missile bases and nuclear sites also sustaining hits.
Photographs of the southerly Konarak naval base and the Bandar Abbas port facility, which is located on the strategic Hormuz Strait and is home to the main command of the Iranian navy, show smoke billowing from multiple ships on the start of the week.
Naval Assets Sustained Major Damage
Included in the vessels destroyed was the IRINS Makran, the country's biggest warship which had served as a unmanned aerial vehicle platform. Orbital photos displayed dark plumes rising from the vessel which had been stationed at the Bandar Abbas naval base.
Analytical assessments state that no fewer than five vessels at Bandar Abbas were "damaged or eliminated". Imagery of the southern end of the port depict smoke emanating from the IRINS Makran, while two other vessels seem to be harmed, with one of them visibly ablaze.
At the Konarak base, photos display several harmed ships, with analysis identifying impacts on six ships. Photos taken on the start of the week also indicate that a number of structures at the base have been demolished.
"For a long time the Tehran government has threatened international shipping," the head of US Central Command said. "Now, there is not one vessel from Iran underway in the Arabian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz or Gulf of Oman, and we will not stop."
Some ships allegedly sunk may have been obscured in satellite images by cloud or smoke, or hit in open waters, and have not been independently verified. Separate reports stated that a ship from Iran was foundering off the coast of Sri Lanka's territorial waters, leading to a rescue operation.
Rocket Bases and Nuclear Locations Hit
Neutralizing Iran's rocket sites and the hindering of atomic bomb programs were stated as further goals of the military strikes. Aerial imagery also revealed damage at the southerly Khorgu base and northwestern Tabriz missile bases, and at the Konarak air air base, where rocket warehouses and bunkers were struck.
At the Choqa Balk-e drone drone base west of Kermanshah, widespread destruction was identified to sheds, bunkers and drone launch equipment.
Impact was also noted at a surveillance station at the Zahedan airbase airbase in eastern Iran, near the border with neighboring nations.
Of particular note, the new round of attacks have apparently targeted facilities at Natanz – considered at the heart of Iran's nuclear programme. The UN's atomic energy body said that the affected buildings were used for entry to the site's below-ground enrichment facility and that "no release of radioactive material" was expected.
Broader Consequences and Analysis
Defense experts suggested that the strikes appeared to have "greatly reduced" the Iran's naval capability to conduct traditional warfare using its biggest warships. However, it was stressed that Iran still has the ability to launch asymmetric warfare at sea through the use of unmanned aerial vehicles, small submarines and its so-called "shadow fleet" of oil ships.
The total scale of the destruction caused to Iranian military facilities remains unclear, with hostilities reportedly persisting. Imagery also shows considerable damage to the command center of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in the city of Tehran.
A significant number of public facilities also appear to have been hit in the capital and across Iran since the hostilities began. Reports of deaths from ground sources indicate that many hundreds of civilians may have been killed in the strikes.
Amid continuing hostilities, monitoring of satellite imagery will continue to track the changing military landscape.