Satellite Images Reveal Iranian Navy and Nuclear Locations Struck by American and Israeli Strikes.
A wave of joint airstrikes has reportedly destroyed or damaged no fewer than 11 Iran's navy ships starting Saturday, new aerial photos reveal, with rocket sites and atomic facilities also being targeted.
Pictures of the southern Konarak military port and the Bandar Abbas installation, which sits on the Strait of Hormuz and is home to the main command of the Iran's naval force, depict plumes of smoke rising from several ships on Monday and Tuesday.
Maritime Assets Sustained Major Damage
Among the vessels destroyed was the Makran, Iran's biggest warship which had been used as a unmanned aerial vehicle platform. Satellite images displayed thick smoke pouring from the ship which had been docked at the Bandar Abbas naval base.
Analytical reports state that at least five vessels at Bandar Abbas were "damaged or eliminated". Photos of the southern part of the harbor depict smoke emanating from the Makran, while additional vessels are visibly harmed, with one of them seen burning.
At the Konarak base, images display multiple damaged vessels, with expert review pointing to strikes against six vessels. Photos from the start of the week also demonstrate that several buildings at the base have been demolished.
"For a long time the Iranian regime has disrupted global maritime traffic," the head of US Central Command stated. "Now, there is not one Iranian ship at sea in the Persian Gulf, Hormuz Strait or Gulf of Oman, and we will persist."
A number of vessels allegedly sunk may have been obscured in satellite images by cloud or smoke, or hit in open waters, and have yet to be fully confirmed. Additional information indicated that one Iranian ship was going down off the coast of Sri Lankan territorial waters, resulting in a search and rescue mission.
Missile Installations and Nuclear Facilities Hit
The destruction of Iran's rocket sites and the stopping enrichment activities were stated as additional aims of the military strikes. Aerial imagery also revealed damage at the southerly Khorgu 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 UAV facility to the west of Kermanshah, widespread damage was observed to warehouses, bunkers and UAV launching apparatus.
Impact was also noted at a surveillance station at the Zahedan military airport in eastern Iran, near the border with neighboring nations.
Of particular note, the new round of strikes have apparently targeted sites at Natanz – long said to be at the heart of the country's nuclear programme. The UN's atomic energy body said that the damaged structures were used for access to the facility's below-ground enrichment facility and that "no radiological consequence" was anticipated.
Wider Fallout and Analysis
Military analysts suggested that the strikes appeared to have "largely neutralized" the Iran's naval ability to sustain conventional attacks using its most significant warships. Nevertheless, it was stressed that Iran retains the option to launch irregular strikes at sea through the use of unmanned aerial vehicles, midget subs and its so-called "shadow fleet" of oil ships.
The overall extent of the damage caused to Iran's defense facilities has yet to be fully assessed, with hostilities reportedly continuing. Photos also indicates widespread destruction to the command center of the the IRGC in the city of Tehran.
Numerous of non-military structures also seem to have been struck in the capital and throughout the country since the hostilities started. Toll estimates from ground sources state that a high number of non-combatants may have been killed in the strikes.
With the conflict ongoing, analysis of satellite imagery will continue to assess the unfolding scope of damage.