Satellite Photographs Depict Iranian Navy and Atomic Sites Targeted by Joint US and Israeli Airstrikes.
A series of joint attacks has allegedly destroyed or damaged at least eleven Iran's navy ships since Saturday, recently obtained satellite images reveal, with missile bases and enrichment plants also coming under fire.
Pictures of the southern Konarak naval naval base and the Bandar Abbas installation, which is located on the strategic Hormuz Strait and is home to the main command of the Iranian navy, show smoke billowing from several vessels on recent days.
Maritime Fleet Sustained Significant Losses
Among the vessels destroyed was the IRINS Makran, Iran's largest naval vessel which had functioned as a drone carrier. Aerial imagery indicated dark plumes pouring from the vessel which had been moored at the Bandar Abbas base.
Analytical reports suggest that at least five ships at the port were "hit or sunk". Photos of the southern part of the harbor depict plumes ascending from the Makran, while two other ships appear to be impacted, with one of them seen burning.
At the Konarak base, photos display numerous damaged ships, with analysis identifying strikes against six vessels. Photos from the start of the week also show that several facilities at the installation have been leveled.
"For many years the Iranian regime has disrupted international shipping," a senior US military official declared. "Today, there is not a single Iranian ship at sea in the Persian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz or Sea of Oman, and we will continue."
Some ships reportedly sunk may have been concealed in aerial photos by haze or plumes, or targeted offshore, and have not been conclusively proven. Other accounts stated that a ship from Iran was going down off the coast of Sri Lankan territorial waters, prompting a rescue operation.
Rocket Sites and Atomic Facilities Targeted
The destruction of Iran's rocket sites and the hindering of enrichment activities were stated as further goals of the offensive. Satellite images also depicted impacts against the southerly Khorgu and northwestern Tabriz missile bases, and at the Konarak base, where rocket warehouses and bunkers were targeted.
Over at the Choqa Balk-e unmanned aircraft site to the west of the city of Kermanshah, extensive damage was observed to storage buildings, underground facilities and UAV launching apparatus.
Impact was also observed at a surveillance station at the Zahedan airbase in eastern parts of the country, close to the frontier with Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Of particular note, the latest wave of attacks have apparently targeted facilities at Natanz – considered at the center of Iran's nuclear programme. The UN's atomic energy body commented that the damaged structures were used for access to the site's below-ground enrichment facility and that "no radiological consequence" was expected.
Wider Impact and Analysis
Military analysts indicated that the attacks appeared to have "greatly reduced" the Iran's naval capacity to sustain traditional warfare using its biggest warships. However, it was stressed that Tehran still has the capacity to launch irregular strikes at sea through the use of unmanned aerial vehicles, midget subs and its so-called "clandestine network" of oil ships.
The full extent of the damage caused to Iran's defense infrastructure remains unclear, with hostilities reportedly ongoing. Imagery also indicates extensive destruction to the headquarters of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in the capital Tehran.
Numerous of civilian buildings also are reported to have been struck in the capital city and across the country since the fighting escalated. Casualty figures from ground sources indicate that a high number of non-combatants may have been lost their lives in the attacks.
As the situation develops, analysis of aerial photographs will continue to assess the changing scope of damage.