Orbital Photographs Depict Iranian Naval Forces and Atomic Locations Targeted by US-Israeli Military Action.
A wave of US and Israeli airstrikes has according to analysis eliminated or harmed no fewer than 11 warships belonging to Iran starting the weekend, freshly analyzed orbital imagery show, with rocket sites and enrichment plants also being targeted.
Photographs of the southern Konarak naval naval base and the Bandar Abbas facility, which is located on the Strait of Hormuz and is home to the headquarters of the Iran's naval force, show black smoke pouring from a number of ships on recent days.
Naval Forces Sustained Major Losses
Among the vessels destroyed was the Makran, the country's biggest warship which had been used as a drone carrier. Satellite images showed thick smoke emanating from the vessel which had been moored at the Bandar Abbas base.
Intelligence assessments suggest that no fewer than five vessels at the port were "struck or destroyed". Pictures of the south end of the harbor depict smoke rising from the Makran, while additional vessels appear to be impacted, with one of them clearly on fire.
Over at Konarak, photos display multiple stricken ships, with expert review pointing to strikes against six ships. Photos taken on the start of the week also indicate that a number of facilities at the base have been demolished.
"For decades the Iranian regime has threatened commercial vessels," a senior US military official said. "At present, there is not one Iranian ship underway in the Persian Gulf, Hormuz Strait or Gulf of Oman, and we will continue."
Some vessels reportedly destroyed may have been hidden in satellite images by weather conditions or battle damage, or targeted offshore, and have not been conclusively proven. Separate reports stated that one Iranian ship was sinking near Sri Lanka's territorial waters, prompting a search and rescue mission.
Missile Installations and Atomic Facilities Attacked
Eliminating Iranian missile bases and the prevention of nuclear weapons development were declared as additional goals of the offensive. Aerial imagery also depicted impacts against the southern Khorgu base and northwestern Tabriz missile bases, and at the Konarak air base, where weapons bunkers and fortifications were struck.
At the Choqa Balk-e drone UAV facility west of Kermanshah, significant damage was identified to sheds, bunkers and UAV launching apparatus.
Impact was also observed at a radar site at the Zahedan military airport in eastern Iran, close to the border with Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Perhaps most notably, the latest wave of attacks have apparently focused on facilities at Natanz – widely believed to be at the core of the country's atomic program. An international watchdog stated that the affected buildings were used for access to the site's below-ground enrichment facility and that "no nuclear fallout" was expected.
Wider Impact and Analysis
Observers indicated that the attacks appeared to have "largely neutralized" the Iranian navy's capability to conduct traditional warfare using its largest vessels. Nevertheless, it was noted that Iran still has the capacity to launch unconventional attacks at sea through the use of drones, midget subs and its so-called "ghost fleet" of tankers.
The total scope of the destruction caused to Iranian military infrastructure is still uncertain, with strikes said to be ongoing. Pictures also shows considerable damage to the main offices of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in the city of Tehran.
Numerous of civilian buildings also appear to have been struck in the capital and throughout Iran since the hostilities escalated. Toll estimates from local officials indicate that many hundreds of non-combatants may have been fatally injured in the strikes.
As the situation develops, review of aerial photographs will carry on to track the unfolding military landscape.