Satellite Photographs Depict Iranian Naval Forces and Nuclear Locations Targeted by US-Israeli Military Action.
A series of US and Israeli strikes has according to analysis eliminated or harmed a minimum of 11 Iran's navy ships since the weekend, new aerial photos reveal, with launch facilities and atomic facilities also sustaining hits.
Photographs of the southerly Konarak naval naval base and the Bandar Abbas port facility, which overlooks the Strait of Hormuz and is home to the headquarters of the Iran's naval force, depict plumes of smoke rising from multiple ships on the start of the week.
Naval Fleet Incurred Substantial Losses
Among the ships sunk was the Makran, the country's biggest warship which had functioned as a unmanned aerial vehicle platform. Satellite images showed dark plumes emanating from the vessel which had been docked at the Bandar Abbas naval base.
Intelligence reports suggest that at least a quintet of warships at Bandar Abbas were "hit or sunk". Photos of the south end of the harbor depict plumes ascending from the IRINS Makran, while two other ships are visibly harmed, with a single one visibly ablaze.
At the Konarak base, photos show numerous damaged ships, with expert review pointing to strikes against six ships. Photos from the start of the week also indicate that several buildings at the base have been destroyed.
"For many years the Tehran government has disrupted global maritime traffic," a senior US military official declared. "Today, there is not a single Iranian vessel at sea in the Arabian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz or Sea of Oman, and we will continue."
Some vessels reportedly sunk may have been concealed in satellite images by cloud or smoke, or targeted offshore, and have not been independently verified. Other accounts suggested that an Iranian vessel was foundering near Sri Lanka's territorial waters, leading to a search and rescue mission.
Rocket Sites and Atomic Facilities Attacked
Neutralizing Tehran's launch facilities and the stopping atomic bomb programs were stated as further objectives of the air campaign. Satellite images also revealed damage at the southerly Khorgu and northwestern Tabriz missile missile bases, and at the Konarak air base, where missile storage facilities and bunkers were hit.
At the Choqa Balk-e UAV facility west of the city of Kermanshah, widespread destruction was observed to storage buildings, bunkers and UAV launching apparatus.
Impact was also noted at a surveillance station at the Zahedan airbase military airport in eastern Iran, close to the border with neighboring nations.
Of particular note, the latest wave of strikes have reportedly focused on installations at Natanz – considered at the core of Iran's atomic program. The UN's atomic energy body stated that the affected buildings were used for access to the facility's underground enrichment facility and that "no radiological consequence" was expected.
Wider Consequences and Analysis
Military analysts indicated that the attacks appeared to have "greatly reduced" the Iranian navy's ability to sustain traditional warfare using its biggest 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 "ghost fleet" of oil ships.
The overall scope of the damage caused to Iranian military infrastructure has yet to be fully assessed, with strikes said to be ongoing. Photos also indicates considerable destruction to the headquarters of the Iran's Revolutionary Guards in the capital Tehran.
A large number of non-military structures also seem to have been damaged in the capital and throughout the country after the hostilities started. Reports of deaths from ground sources suggest that many hundreds of non-combatants may have been fatally injured in the attacks.
With the conflict ongoing, analysis of aerial photographs will carry on to track the unfolding scope of damage.