Satellite Photographs Show Iranian Navy and Nuclear Facilities Struck by Joint US and Israeli Attacks.
A series of joint airstrikes has allegedly sunk or crippled no fewer than 11 Iran's navy ships starting the weekend, new satellite images reveal, with rocket sites and nuclear sites also coming under fire.
Images of the southerly Konarak military port and the Bandar Abbas port facility, which sits on the strategic Hormuz Strait and contains the headquarters of the Iranian navy, depict plumes of smoke rising from several ships on recent days.
Naval Assets Sustained Significant Losses
Among the targets eliminated was the IRINS Makran, Iran's largest naval vessel which had been used as a unmanned aerial vehicle platform. Satellite images showed dark plumes emanating from the ship which had been docked at the Bandar Abbas naval base.
Analytical reports indicate that no fewer than a quintet of warships at Bandar Abbas were "hit or sunk". Pictures of the southern part of the harbor depict plumes ascending from the Makran, while another pair of ships appear to be impacted, with one clearly on fire.
At the Konarak base, images reveal numerous stricken ships, with analysis pointing to impacts on a half-dozen warships. Photos taken on the start of the week also show that multiple facilities at the base have been demolished.
"For many years the Iranian regime has disrupted international shipping," an American commander declared. "Today, there is not a single Iranian vessel at sea in the Arabian Gulf, Hormuz Strait or Gulf of Oman, and we will persist."
A number of vessels reportedly destroyed may have been concealed in satellite images by haze or plumes, or hit in open waters, and have not been independently verified. Other accounts stated that an Iranian vessel was sinking near Sri Lankan territorial waters, resulting in a search and rescue mission.
Missile Bases and Nuclear Facilities Targeted
The destruction of Iranian missile bases and the prevention of atomic bomb programs were declared as additional objectives of the military strikes. Aerial imagery also depicted strikes on the southern Khorgu base and northwestern Tabriz missile missile bases, and at the Konarak base, where rocket warehouses and fortifications were hit.
At the Choqa Balk-e drone base west of the city of Kermanshah, widespread damage was observed to warehouses, underground facilities and drone launch equipment.
Destruction was also noted at a radar site at the Zahedan military airport in eastern Iran, close to the frontier with neighboring nations.
Of particular note, the most recent series of strikes have apparently hit installations at Natanz – considered at the heart of the country's nuclear programme. An international watchdog stated that the affected buildings were used for entry to the facility's underground enrichment facility and that "no nuclear fallout" was anticipated.
Wider Fallout and Analysis
Observers suggested that the strikes appeared to have "significantly degraded" the Iranian navy's ability to conduct traditional warfare using its most significant vessels. Nevertheless, it was emphasised that Tehran maintains the option to launch asymmetric warfare at sea through the use of drones, small submarines and its so-called "ghost fleet" of tankers.
The total scope of the destruction caused to Iran's defense infrastructure remains unclear, with hostilities reportedly ongoing. Pictures also indicates widespread damage to the headquarters of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in the city of Tehran.
Numerous of non-military structures also are reported to have been hit in the capital city and across the country after the conflict started. Toll estimates from inside Iran suggest that many hundreds of civilians may have been lost their lives in the attacks.
As the situation develops, analysis of satellite imagery will carry on to assess the changing battlefield picture.