Space-Based Imagery Depict Iranian Navy and Atomic Locations Hit by Joint US and Israeli Attacks.
Multiple American and Israeli strikes has allegedly destroyed or damaged at least eleven Iranian naval vessels starting the weekend, freshly analyzed aerial photos show, with missile bases and atomic facilities also sustaining hits.
Photographs of the southern Konarak naval military port and the Bandar Abbas port installation, which sits on the Strait of Hormuz and houses the headquarters of the Iranian navy, show plumes of smoke rising from a number of vessels on recent days.
Naval Forces Sustained Major Damage
Included in the targets eliminated was the Makran, Iran's biggest warship which had functioned as a unmanned aerial vehicle platform. Orbital photos displayed black smoke rising from the ship which had been stationed at the Bandar Abbas naval base.
Intelligence evaluations indicate that no fewer than five vessels at Bandar Abbas were "struck or destroyed". Pictures of the south end of the harbor reveal plumes ascending from the Makran, while another pair of vessels seem to be impacted, with a single one clearly on fire.
Over at the Konarak base, images show numerous stricken ships, with intelligence reports identifying damage to six vessels. Images taken on Monday also demonstrate that multiple buildings at the installation have been demolished.
"For decades the Tehran government has threatened global maritime traffic," a senior US military official said. "At present, there is no Iranian ship underway in the Arabian Gulf, Hormuz Strait or Gulf of Oman, and we will continue."
A number of ships allegedly destroyed may have been concealed in aerial photos by cloud or smoke, or hit in open waters, and have not been conclusively proven. Separate reports stated that one Iranian ship was foundering off the coast of Sri Lanka's waters, leading to a rescue operation.
Rocket Installations and Nuclear Facilities Targeted
Eliminating Tehran's launch facilities and the prevention of enrichment activities were declared as additional aims of the military strikes. Satellite images also showed impacts against the southerly Khorgu base and north-western Tabriz missile missile bases, and at the Konarak base, where rocket warehouses and bunkers were struck.
At the Choqa Balk-e unmanned aircraft site west of Kermanshah, extensive destruction was identified to sheds, bunkers and UAV launching apparatus.
Destruction was also noted at a radar installation at the Zahedan military airport in eastern parts of the country, close to the border with neighboring nations.
Perhaps most notably, the latest wave of strikes have apparently focused on sites at Natanz – long said to be at the center of the country's atomic program. An international watchdog stated that the damaged structures were used for access to the facility's underground nuclear plant and that "no release of radioactive material" was anticipated.
Wider Fallout and Assessment
Military analysts stated that the offensive appeared to have "largely neutralized" the Iranian navy's capability to conduct conventional attacks using its largest warships. But, it was stressed that Tehran still has the capacity to launch asymmetric warfare at sea through the use of drones, small submarines and its so-called "clandestine network" of tankers.
The total scope of the damage caused to Iranian military facilities remains unclear, with attacks reportedly ongoing. Pictures also reveals widespread destruction to the command center of the Iran's Revolutionary Guards in the capital Tehran.
A significant number of public facilities also appear to have been damaged in the capital and across the country after the hostilities escalated. Reports of deaths from inside Iran state that hundreds of civilians may have been lost their lives in the bombardment.
Amid continuing hostilities, review of aerial photographs will persist to document the evolving battlefield picture.