Orbital Images Depict Iranian Navy and Nuclear Sites Targeted by US-Israeli Military Action.
A wave of US and Israeli strikes has reportedly eliminated or harmed no fewer than 11 Iranian naval vessels since Saturday, new orbital imagery show, with missile bases and nuclear sites also sustaining hits.
Photographs of the southern Konarak military port and the Bandar Abbas facility, which sits on the Strait of Hormuz and contains the main command of the Iranian navy, depict plumes of smoke rising from a number of warships on recent days.
Maritime Fleet Incurred Substantial Damage
Included in the ships sunk was the Makran, Iran's most sizable ship which had been used as a unmanned aerial vehicle platform. Aerial imagery showed thick smoke pouring from the vessel which had been moored at the Bandar Abbas naval base.
Intelligence assessments indicate that at least five ships at the port were "struck or destroyed". Photos of the southern end of the harbor show smoke rising from the Makran, while two other ships are visibly damaged, with a single one visibly ablaze.
Over at Konarak, images reveal several harmed ships, with analysis pointing to damage to six vessels. Images taken on Monday also show that several buildings at the base have been destroyed.
"For decades the Iran's leadership has threatened global maritime traffic," the head of US Central Command stated. "Today, there is not one vessel from Iran underway in the Persian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz or Sea of Oman, and we will persist."
Some vessels reportedly destroyed may have been concealed in aerial photos by weather conditions or battle damage, or struck at sea, and have not been independently verified. Additional information stated that a ship from Iran was going down off the coast of Sri Lankan territorial waters, prompting a rescue operation.
Rocket Bases and Atomic Facilities Attacked
Neutralizing Tehran's launch facilities and the prevention of atomic bomb programs were listed as additional aims of the air campaign. Satellite images also revealed impacts against the southern Khorgu base and north-western Tabriz missile bases, and at the Konarak base, where missile storage facilities and bunkers were targeted.
Over at the Choqa Balk-e drone unmanned aircraft site to the west of the city of Kermanshah, widespread damage was identified to sheds, bunkers and UAV launching apparatus.
Destruction was also seen at a radar site at the Zahedan airbase military airport in eastern Iran, near the border with Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Significantly, the new round of attacks have apparently hit facilities at the Natanz complex – considered at the heart of Iran's nuclear programme. An international watchdog said that the damaged structures were used for entry to the site's below-ground nuclear plant and that "no release of radioactive material" was expected.
Wider Consequences and Assessment
Defense experts indicated that the strikes appeared to have "significantly degraded" the Iran's naval ability to sustain conventional attacks using its most significant vessels. But, it was stressed that Tehran maintains the ability to launch irregular strikes at sea through the use of drones, mini-submarines and its so-called "ghost fleet" of oil ships.
The total scale of the destruction caused to Iranian military facilities has yet to be fully assessed, with strikes reportedly continuing. Pictures also reveals extensive destruction to the main offices of the the IRGC in the capital Tehran.
A large number of public facilities also appear to have been struck in the capital city and across Iran since the fighting started. Casualty figures from inside Iran indicate that hundreds of non-combatants may have been killed in the attacks.
As the situation develops, analysis of space-based data will persist to track the evolving scope of damage.