Space-Based Images Reveal Iranian Navy and Nuclear Facilities Struck by Joint US and Israeli Attacks.
A series of joint strikes has according to analysis destroyed or damaged at least eleven Iranian naval vessels starting the weekend, recently obtained satellite images show, with missile bases and nuclear sites also sustaining hits.
Pictures of the southern Konarak naval naval base and the Bandar Abbas port installation, which is located on the strategic Hormuz Strait and is home to the main command of the Iranian navy, depict smoke billowing from a number of vessels on the start of the week.
Naval Fleet Sustained Substantial Losses
Included in the targets eliminated was the IRINS Makran, the country's biggest warship which had functioned as a drone carrier. Aerial imagery displayed black smoke rising from the vessel which had been docked at the Bandar Abbas naval base.
Analytical evaluations suggest that no fewer than a quintet of warships at Bandar Abbas were "struck or destroyed". Imagery of the southern end of the harbor depict plumes ascending from the Makran, while two other vessels are visibly harmed, with one of them visibly ablaze.
At the Konarak base, images reveal numerous harmed vessels, with analysis identifying damage to a half-dozen warships. Images from the start of the week also demonstrate that a number of facilities at the base have been leveled.
"For decades the Tehran government has disrupted international shipping," the head of US Central Command said. "Now, there is not a single vessel from Iran underway in the Arabian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz or Gulf of Oman, and we will continue."
A number of ships allegedly destroyed may have been obscured in satellite images by haze or plumes, or targeted offshore, and have not been independently verified. Other accounts indicated that an Iranian vessel was going down near Sri Lanka's waters, resulting in a rescue operation.
Missile Sites and Atomic Locations Hit
The destruction of Iranian missile bases and the hindering of atomic bomb programs were listed as other goals of the offensive. Satellite images also revealed strikes on the southerly Khorgu base and north-western Tabriz missile bases, and at the Konarak base, where weapons bunkers and fortifications were targeted.
At the Choqa Balk-e drone UAV facility to the west of the city of Kermanshah, extensive damage was seen to warehouses, underground facilities and drone launch equipment.
Destruction was also observed at a radar installation at the Zahedan airbase military airport in eastern parts of the country, close to the border with neighboring nations.
Significantly, the new round of attacks have apparently hit facilities at the Natanz complex – widely believed to be at the center of Iran's enrichment efforts. An international watchdog commented that the affected buildings were used for entry to the facility's underground enrichment facility and that "no radiological consequence" was expected.
Broader Fallout and Analysis
Military analysts suggested that the attacks appeared to have "significantly degraded" the Iranian navy's capacity to conduct standard operations using its most significant vessels. However, it was noted that Iran maintains 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 full scope of the damage caused to Iranian military facilities remains unclear, with strikes said to be ongoing. Pictures also shows extensive damage to the main offices of the the IRGC in the city of Tehran.
A large number of non-military structures also seem to have been damaged in the capital and throughout the country since the conflict began. Casualty figures from local officials suggest that many hundreds of civilians may have been killed in the bombardment.
With the conflict ongoing, monitoring of aerial photographs will carry on to track the changing scope of damage.