Satellite Photographs Show Iran's Navy and Atomic Sites Struck by US-Israeli Attacks.
A wave of American and Israeli airstrikes has allegedly eliminated or harmed at least 11 warships belonging to Iran starting Saturday, freshly analyzed satellite images reveal, with missile bases and nuclear sites also sustaining hits.
Photographs of the southerly Konarak naval base and the Bandar Abbas installation, which sits on the Strait of Hormuz and is home to the main command of the Iranian navy, reveal black smoke pouring from several warships on recent days.
Naval Forces Sustained Major Damage
Among the ships sunk was the Makran, Iran's most sizable ship which had functioned as a drone carrier. Satellite images displayed thick smoke emanating from the vessel which had been moored at the Bandar Abbas naval base.
Intelligence assessments state that no fewer than five ships at the port were "hit or sunk". Photos of the south end of the harbor depict plumes ascending from the Makran, while another pair of ships are visibly harmed, with one of them clearly on fire.
Over at the Konarak base, photos show numerous damaged ships, with expert review pointing to impacts on six ships. Pictures taken on Monday also indicate that multiple facilities at the installation have been leveled.
"For many years the Tehran government has harassed global maritime traffic," a senior US military official said. "Today, there is not a single Iranian vessel operational in the Persian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz or Sea of Oman, and we will continue."
Some vessels allegedly sunk may have been obscured in aerial photos by weather conditions or battle damage, or struck at sea, and have yet to be fully confirmed. Separate reports stated that an Iranian vessel was sinking near Sri Lanka's waters, leading to a search and rescue mission.
Rocket Installations and Atomic Facilities Hit
The destruction of Iranian missile bases and the hindering of atomic bomb programs were listed as further objectives of the offensive. Aerial imagery also revealed impacts against the southern Khorgu and northwestern Tabriz facilities, and at the Konarak air base, where rocket warehouses and fortifications were struck.
Over at the Choqa Balk-e unmanned aircraft site to the west of Kermanshah, extensive destruction was seen to sheds, underground facilities and unmanned aircraft systems.
Destruction was also observed at a surveillance station at the Zahedan airbase in eastern parts of the country, near the frontier with neighboring nations.
Perhaps most notably, the most recent series of attacks have apparently focused on installations at Natanz – considered at the heart of the country's enrichment efforts. A global monitoring agency commented that the damaged structures were used for entry to the site's below-ground nuclear plant and that "no nuclear fallout" was anticipated.
Broader Fallout and Analysis
Defense experts indicated that the attacks appeared to have "largely neutralized" the Iranian navy's capability to sustain standard operations using its most significant warships. Nevertheless, it was noted that Iran maintains the capacity to launch asymmetric warfare at sea through the use of drones, small submarines and its so-called "shadow fleet" of oil ships.
The total extent of the destruction caused to Iranian military infrastructure has yet to be fully assessed, with hostilities said to be continuing. Pictures also reveals extensive destruction to the headquarters of the the IRGC in the capital Tehran.
Numerous of civilian buildings also are reported to have been damaged in the capital and throughout Iran since the conflict escalated. Reports of deaths from ground sources indicate that many hundreds of non-combatants may have been lost their lives in the strikes.
With the conflict ongoing, review of satellite imagery will carry on to document the unfolding military landscape.