Satellite Images Indicate Iran's Naval Forces and Nuclear Sites Targeted by US-Israeli Attacks.
A wave of US and Israeli attacks has allegedly sunk or crippled at least 11 Iranian naval vessels since Saturday, new orbital imagery reveal, with rocket sites and nuclear sites also coming under fire.
Photographs of the southern Konarak naval base and the Bandar Abbas facility, which sits on the strategic Hormuz Strait and contains the main command of the Iranian navy, show black smoke pouring from a number of warships on recent days.
Naval Assets Incurred Significant Losses
Among the targets eliminated was the Makran, Iran's most sizable ship which had functioned as a drone carrier. Orbital photos showed dark plumes pouring from the ship which had been stationed at the Bandar Abbas base.
Analytical reports state that at least five ships at the port were "struck or destroyed". Pictures of the south end of the port depict plumes ascending from the Makran, while another pair of ships appear to be harmed, with one visibly ablaze.
Over at Konarak, photos reveal several damaged vessels, with intelligence reports pointing to impacts on six vessels. Pictures taken on the start of the week also indicate that multiple structures at the installation have been destroyed.
"For decades the Iranian regime has harassed international shipping," a senior US military official declared. "At present, there is no vessel from Iran operational in the Arabian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz or Gulf of Oman, and we will persist."
Some ships reportedly sunk may have been concealed in satellite images by weather conditions or battle damage, or struck at sea, and have yet to be fully confirmed. Additional information indicated that a ship from Iran was sinking near Sri Lankan territorial waters, leading to a rescue operation.
Rocket Sites and Atomic Locations Attacked
Eliminating Iran's rocket sites and the hindering of nuclear weapons development were listed as additional goals of the offensive. Aerial imagery also showed impacts against the southern Khorgu base and north-western Tabriz facilities, and at the Konarak air air base, where missile storage facilities and fortifications were hit.
Over at the Choqa Balk-e drone base west of Kermanshah, significant damage was identified to sheds, underground facilities and drone launch equipment.
Impact was also observed at a radar installation at the Zahedan airbase in eastern Iran, close to the border with neighboring nations.
Significantly, the new round of attacks have reportedly focused on facilities at Natanz – considered at the core of the country's nuclear programme. The UN's atomic energy body said that the affected structures were used for entry to the site's underground enrichment facility and that "no radiological consequence" was likely.
Wider Impact and Assessment
Defense experts stated that the strikes appeared to have "significantly degraded" the Iran's naval capability to conduct standard operations using its most significant vessels. Nevertheless, it was emphasised that Tehran maintains the option to launch unconventional attacks at sea through the use of drones, midget subs and its so-called "clandestine network" of oil ships.
The total scale of the destruction caused to Iran's defense facilities has yet to be fully assessed, with attacks said to be ongoing. Pictures also indicates extensive destruction to the command center of the Iran's Revolutionary Guards in the city of Tehran.
A significant number of non-military structures also are reported to have been damaged in the capital and throughout the country after the conflict started. Toll estimates from inside Iran state that a high number of non-combatants may have been killed in the attacks.
As the situation develops, review of aerial photographs will continue to track the changing military landscape.
