Space-Based Pictures Show Iranian Navy and Nuclear Sites Struck by Joint US and Israeli Strikes.
A series of joint attacks has according to analysis sunk or crippled no fewer than 11 warships belonging to Iran starting the weekend, recently obtained orbital imagery show, with missile bases and nuclear sites also sustaining hits.
Images of the southerly Konarak military port and the Bandar Abbas port facility, which is located on the Strait of Hormuz and houses the main command of the Iranian navy, depict smoke billowing from multiple warships on Monday and Tuesday.
Naval Fleet Incurred Substantial Damage
Among the vessels destroyed was the IRINS Makran, Iran's largest naval vessel which had served as a drone carrier. Satellite images displayed dark plumes pouring from the ship which had been docked at the Bandar Abbas base.
Intelligence evaluations suggest that at least a quintet of warships at Bandar Abbas were "damaged or eliminated". Photos of the south end of the harbor reveal smoke rising from the IRINS Makran, while another pair of vessels are visibly harmed, with one of them visibly ablaze.
Over at Konarak, images display several damaged ships, with intelligence reports identifying damage to a half-dozen warships. Images taken on the start of the week also show that a number of buildings at the base have been destroyed.
"For a long time the Iranian regime has harassed international shipping," the head of US Central Command stated. "Today, there is no vessel from Iran operational in the Persian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz or Sea of Oman, and we will continue."
Some ships reportedly destroyed may have been concealed in satellite images by haze or plumes, or struck at sea, and have not been independently verified. Separate reports suggested that an Iranian vessel was going down near Sri Lanka's waters, leading to a search and rescue mission.
Missile Installations and Atomic Facilities Attacked
The destruction of Iran's rocket sites and the stopping atomic bomb programs were declared as further objectives of the offensive. Aerial imagery also showed impacts against the southern Khorgu base and northwestern Tabriz missile facilities, and at the Konarak air base, where weapons bunkers and bunkers were targeted.
Over at the Choqa Balk-e UAV facility to the west of Kermanshah, widespread damage was observed to warehouses, bunkers and drone launch equipment.
Destruction was also observed at a radar installation at the Zahedan military airport in eastern Iran, near the frontier with Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Perhaps most notably, the new round of strikes have apparently hit facilities at Natanz – widely believed to be at the heart of the country's nuclear programme. The UN's atomic energy body commented that the damaged buildings were used for access to the facility's underground enrichment facility and that "no nuclear fallout" was anticipated.
Broader Fallout and Assessment
Defense experts suggested that the offensive appeared to have "greatly reduced" the Iranian navy's capacity to carry out traditional warfare using its most significant warships. Nevertheless, it was stressed that Tehran still has the option to launch asymmetric warfare at sea through the use of drones, small submarines and its so-called "ghost fleet" of tankers.
The full scope of the damage caused to Iranian military facilities is still uncertain, with hostilities reportedly continuing. Imagery also indicates considerable destruction to the headquarters of the Iran's Revolutionary Guards in the capital Tehran.
Numerous of civilian buildings also are reported to have been struck in the capital city and throughout the country after the hostilities started. Reports of deaths from ground sources state that hundreds of non-combatants may have been fatally injured in the attacks.
With the conflict ongoing, review of satellite imagery will carry on to document the unfolding military landscape.