Orbital Images Indicate Iran's Navy and Atomic Sites Struck by US-Israeli Airstrikes.
A wave of US and Israeli attacks has allegedly eliminated or harmed at least 11 warships belonging to Iran starting the weekend, new aerial photos show, with missile bases and enrichment plants also coming under fire.
Images of the southern Konarak naval military port and the Bandar Abbas installation, which overlooks the Strait of Hormuz and contains the headquarters of the Iran's naval force, reveal black smoke pouring from a number of warships on the start of the week.
Maritime Forces Sustained Significant Damage
Included in the vessels destroyed was the IRINS Makran, the country's largest naval vessel which had functioned as a drone carrier. Satellite images indicated dark plumes pouring from the ship which had been docked at the Bandar Abbas base.
Analytical evaluations indicate that no fewer than five vessels at Bandar Abbas were "struck or destroyed". Photos of the southern end of the harbor depict smoke emanating from the IRINS Makran, while additional vessels appear to be harmed, with a single one seen burning.
Over at the Konarak base, images show several harmed vessels, with analysis identifying damage to six ships. Images taken on the start of the week also show that several facilities at the base have been destroyed.
"For decades the Iranian regime has disrupted commercial vessels," an American commander said. "At present, there is not a single Iranian vessel at sea in the Arabian Gulf, Hormuz Strait or Sea of Oman, and we will continue."
Some ships reportedly sunk may have been hidden in aerial photos by haze or plumes, or hit in open waters, and have not been independently verified. Additional information indicated that a ship from Iran was foundering near Sri Lankan territorial waters, resulting in a search and rescue mission.
Rocket Sites and Atomic Locations Targeted
The destruction of Tehran's launch facilities and the prevention of atomic bomb programs were listed as additional objectives of the air campaign. Satellite images also revealed impacts against the southerly Khorgu base and north-western Tabriz missile missile bases, and at the Konarak base, where weapons bunkers and bunkers were targeted.
At the Choqa Balk-e unmanned aircraft site to the west of the city of Kermanshah, significant destruction was seen to warehouses, bunkers and unmanned aircraft systems.
Damage was also seen at a radar installation at the Zahedan airbase airbase in eastern parts of the country, near the border with neighboring nations.
Perhaps most notably, the new round of attacks have apparently targeted facilities at Natanz – considered at the center of Iran's atomic program. An international watchdog commented that the affected structures were used for access to the facility's below-ground enrichment facility and that "no nuclear fallout" was likely.
Broader Impact and Assessment
Military analysts indicated that the attacks appeared to have "largely neutralized" the Iran's naval capability to sustain standard operations using its largest warships. But, it was noted that Tehran retains the option to launch unconventional attacks at sea through the use of unmanned aerial vehicles, small submarines and its so-called "ghost fleet" of tankers.
The full scope of the destruction caused to Iran's defense facilities has yet to be fully assessed, with strikes said to be ongoing. Photos also indicates considerable damage to the command center of the the IRGC in the capital Tehran.
A significant number of civilian buildings also appear to have been struck in the capital city and throughout the country since the conflict began. Casualty figures from local officials state that hundreds of civilians may have been fatally injured in the strikes.
Amid continuing hostilities, review of satellite imagery will persist to assess the unfolding scope of damage.