Orbital Photographs Indicate Iranian Navy and Atomic Sites Hit by Joint US and Israeli Airstrikes.
Multiple US and Israeli strikes has according to analysis sunk or crippled a minimum of 11 Iranian naval vessels since the weekend, recently obtained satellite images demonstrate, with rocket sites and atomic facilities also being targeted.
Photographs of the southerly Konarak naval naval base and the Bandar Abbas installation, which is located on the Strait of Hormuz and is home to the headquarters of the Iran's naval force, reveal black smoke pouring from several warships on Monday and Tuesday.
Maritime Fleet Incurred Major Damage
Included in the targets eliminated was the IRINS Makran, the country's most sizable ship which had been used as a unmanned aerial vehicle platform. Satellite images indicated dark plumes pouring from the vessel which had been stationed at the Bandar Abbas naval base.
Analytical evaluations indicate that at least a quintet of warships at Bandar Abbas were "damaged or eliminated". Imagery of the southern part of the harbor show plumes ascending from the IRINS Makran, while another pair of vessels seem to be impacted, with a single one seen burning.
Over at the Konarak base, images show numerous stricken ships, with analysis pointing to impacts on a half-dozen warships. Photos from Monday also indicate that multiple facilities at the base have been leveled.
"For many years the Tehran government has threatened commercial vessels," the head of US Central Command stated. "Today, there is not one vessel from Iran operational in the Arabian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz or Gulf of Oman, and we will continue."
A number of vessels allegedly sunk may have been obscured in satellite images by weather conditions or battle damage, or hit in open waters, and have not been conclusively proven. Other accounts suggested that one Iranian ship was sinking off the coast of Sri Lanka's territorial waters, resulting in a search and rescue mission.
Rocket Bases and Nuclear Facilities Hit
The destruction of Iranian missile bases and the hindering of nuclear weapons development were listed as other aims of the air campaign. Aerial imagery also showed damage at the southern Khorgu base and northwestern Tabriz missile missile bases, and at the Konarak air base, where missile storage facilities and fortifications were targeted.
Over at the Choqa Balk-e drone unmanned aircraft site west of the city of Kermanshah, widespread damage was observed to sheds, bunkers and unmanned aircraft systems.
Destruction was also noted at a surveillance station at the Zahedan military airport in eastern parts of the country, near the border with neighboring nations.
Perhaps most notably, the new round of strikes have apparently hit sites at Natanz – widely believed to be at the center of Iran's atomic program. A global monitoring agency commented that the affected buildings were used for access to the facility's underground enrichment facility and that "no release of radioactive material" was likely.
Wider Fallout and Analysis
Military analysts stated that the attacks appeared to have "greatly reduced" the Iran's naval capacity to carry out traditional warfare using its biggest warships. Nevertheless, it was emphasised that Iran retains the capacity to launch asymmetric warfare at sea through the use of unmanned aerial vehicles, mini-submarines and its so-called "clandestine network" of oil ships.
The total extent of the destruction caused to Iranian military facilities is still uncertain, with attacks said to be continuing. Pictures also reveals widespread damage to the headquarters of the Iran's Revolutionary Guards in the capital Tehran.
A large number of non-military structures also seem to have been struck in the capital city and throughout Iran after the conflict escalated. Reports of deaths from inside Iran suggest that many hundreds of civilians may have been fatally injured in the attacks.
As the situation develops, analysis of aerial photographs will continue to assess the unfolding battlefield picture.