Orbital Imagery Reveal Iran's Navy and Nuclear Facilities Targeted by Joint US and Israeli Airstrikes.
A wave of American and Israeli attacks has allegedly destroyed or damaged no fewer than 11 Iran's navy ships since the weekend, new aerial photos show, with rocket sites and nuclear sites also sustaining hits.
Photographs of the southern Konarak naval military port and the Bandar Abbas port facility, which sits on the strategic Hormuz Strait and contains the main command of the Iranian navy, reveal smoke billowing from multiple ships on recent days.
Maritime Forces Sustained Substantial Losses
Included in the targets eliminated was the Makran, the country's biggest warship which had been used as a drone carrier. Satellite images indicated dark plumes emanating from the vessel which had been docked at the Bandar Abbas base.
Intelligence assessments indicate that at least a quintet of warships at Bandar Abbas were "damaged or eliminated". Photos of the southern end of the harbor depict plumes ascending from the IRINS Makran, while additional ships are visibly damaged, with one seen burning.
At Konarak, photos display multiple harmed vessels, with intelligence reports identifying strikes against six ships. Pictures from the start of the week also indicate that a number of facilities at the installation have been leveled.
"For many years the Tehran government has harassed global maritime traffic," the head of US Central Command said. "Today, there is no vessel from Iran underway in the Arabian Gulf, Hormuz Strait or Sea of Oman, and we will not stop."
Some ships allegedly sunk may have been obscured in aerial photos by weather conditions or battle damage, or hit in open waters, and have yet to be fully confirmed. Other accounts suggested that one Iranian ship was sinking near Sri Lanka's waters, leading to a rescue operation.
Missile Bases and Atomic Facilities Attacked
Eliminating Iranian missile bases and the hindering of nuclear weapons development were stated as further aims of the air campaign. Aerial imagery also depicted impacts against the southern Khorgu and northwestern Tabriz missile bases, and at the Konarak base, where rocket warehouses and fortifications were targeted.
Over at the Choqa Balk-e unmanned aircraft site west of the city of Kermanshah, significant destruction was seen to warehouses, bunkers and unmanned aircraft systems.
Impact was also observed at a surveillance station at the Zahedan airbase airbase in eastern Iran, near the frontier with Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Perhaps most notably, the latest wave of attacks have apparently targeted installations at Natanz – considered at the core of Iran's enrichment efforts. An international watchdog commented that the affected buildings were used for access to the facility's underground enrichment facility and that "no nuclear fallout" was anticipated.
Broader Fallout and Assessment
Observers indicated that the strikes appeared to have "greatly reduced" the Iranian navy's ability to sustain conventional attacks using its largest vessels. Nevertheless, it was emphasised that Iran maintains the capacity to launch irregular strikes at sea through the use of drones, midget subs and its so-called "ghost fleet" of oil ships.
The full scale of the damage caused to Iran's defense infrastructure remains unclear, with strikes reportedly continuing. Photos also reveals widespread destruction to the headquarters of the the IRGC in the capital Tehran.
Numerous of non-military structures also appear to have been hit in the capital city and throughout Iran since the conflict began. Reports of deaths from inside Iran suggest that hundreds of civilians may have been fatally injured in the bombardment.
As the situation develops, review of aerial photographs will carry on to assess the changing scope of damage.