Orbital Images Show Iranian Navy and Nuclear Sites Damaged by US-Israeli Airstrikes.
Multiple joint airstrikes has according to analysis sunk or crippled no fewer than 11 Iran's navy ships starting the weekend, new orbital imagery demonstrate, with missile bases and atomic facilities also coming under fire.
Images of the southern Konarak naval naval base and the Bandar Abbas facility, which is located on the strategic Hormuz Strait and is home to the main command of the Iranian navy, show plumes of smoke rising from a number of warships on Monday and Tuesday.
Naval Forces Incurred Major Damage
Among the targets eliminated was the IRINS Makran, the country's largest naval vessel which had been used as a unmanned aerial vehicle platform. Orbital photos indicated dark plumes pouring from the vessel which had been docked at the Bandar Abbas base.
Analytical assessments suggest that no fewer than a quintet of warships at the port were "struck or destroyed". Photos of the southern part of the port reveal plumes ascending from the IRINS Makran, while another pair of ships seem to be damaged, with one seen burning.
Over at the Konarak base, photos show several stricken vessels, with intelligence reports identifying damage to six vessels. Images taken on Monday also show that several facilities at the base have been destroyed.
"For a long time the Iranian regime has threatened international shipping," the head of US Central Command said. "Now, there is not a single Iranian ship underway in the Arabian Gulf, Hormuz Strait or Sea of Oman, and we will persist."
A number of ships reportedly destroyed may have been concealed in aerial photos by weather conditions or battle damage, or hit in open waters, and have not been independently verified. Separate reports indicated that an Iranian vessel was foundering off the coast of Sri Lankan waters, leading to a rescue operation.
Missile Bases and Nuclear Locations Attacked
The destruction of Iranian missile bases and the stopping atomic bomb programs were stated as other aims of the military strikes. Satellite images also depicted strikes on the southerly Khorgu base and north-western Tabriz missile bases, and at the Konarak air base, where rocket warehouses and bunkers were targeted.
Over at the Choqa Balk-e drone unmanned aircraft site to the west of Kermanshah, widespread damage was seen to sheds, underground facilities and UAV launching apparatus.
Destruction was also seen at a radar installation at the Zahedan airbase military airport in eastern Iran, near the border with Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Of particular note, the most recent series of strikes have reportedly focused on sites at the Natanz complex – widely believed to be at the core of Iran's nuclear programme. A global monitoring agency stated that the damaged buildings were used for entry to the facility's underground nuclear plant and that "no release of radioactive material" was likely.
Wider Fallout and Analysis
Observers indicated that the attacks appeared to have "greatly reduced" the Iran's naval capability to sustain conventional attacks using its largest vessels. Nevertheless, it was noted that Iran retains the ability to launch irregular strikes at sea through the use of drones, midget subs and its so-called "shadow fleet" of oil ships.
The total scope of the damage caused to Iran's defense facilities is still uncertain, with strikes reportedly ongoing. Imagery also shows widespread destruction to the main offices of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in the capital Tehran.
A large number of civilian buildings also are reported to have been hit in the capital city and throughout the country since the conflict began. Casualty figures from ground sources indicate that hundreds of non-combatants may have been killed in the attacks.
With the conflict ongoing, analysis of aerial photographs will persist to document the unfolding military landscape.