Space-Based Pictures Indicate Iranian Navy and Atomic Sites Hit by US-Israeli Airstrikes.
A series of US and Israeli attacks has allegedly destroyed or damaged at least eleven Iran's navy ships since Saturday, new orbital imagery show, with rocket sites and enrichment plants also sustaining hits.
Pictures of the southern Konarak naval military port and the Bandar Abbas installation, which sits on the strategic Hormuz Strait and is home to the main command of the Iranian navy, show smoke billowing from a number of vessels on Monday and Tuesday.
Naval Fleet Sustained Major Damage
Included in the targets eliminated was the Makran, the country's biggest warship which had functioned as a drone carrier. Aerial imagery indicated black smoke rising from the vessel which had been stationed at the Bandar Abbas naval base.
Analytical reports state that no fewer than five vessels at Bandar Abbas were "damaged or eliminated". Imagery of the southern part of the port reveal smoke rising from the IRINS Makran, while two other ships appear to be damaged, with one of them seen burning.
Over at the Konarak base, photos reveal numerous harmed vessels, with expert review pointing to strikes against six vessels. Photos taken on Monday also demonstrate that multiple facilities at the installation have been leveled.
"For many years the Tehran government has disrupted commercial vessels," a senior US military official declared. "Now, there is not one Iranian vessel operational in the Persian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz or Gulf of Oman, and we will not stop."
Some ships reportedly destroyed may have been concealed in aerial photos by cloud or smoke, or struck at sea, and have not been independently verified. Separate reports suggested that one Iranian ship was foundering off the coast of Sri Lanka's waters, resulting in a rescue operation.
Rocket Sites and Atomic Locations Hit
Eliminating Iran's rocket sites and the prevention of atomic bomb programs were listed as further aims of the military strikes. Satellite images also showed impacts against the southerly Khorgu and north-western Tabriz missile bases, and at the Konarak air air base, where weapons bunkers and fortifications were targeted.
At the Choqa Balk-e drone base to the west of Kermanshah, widespread damage was identified to storage buildings, underground facilities and UAV launching apparatus.
Destruction was also observed at a radar site at the Zahedan military airport in eastern Iran, close to the frontier with Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Perhaps most notably, the latest wave of attacks have reportedly targeted facilities at Natanz – long said to be at the center of Iran's atomic program. A global monitoring agency stated that the affected structures were used for entry to the site's underground enrichment facility and that "no nuclear fallout" was expected.
Broader Consequences and Assessment
Observers stated that the offensive appeared to have "greatly reduced" the Iran's naval capacity to conduct traditional warfare using its biggest vessels. But, it was noted that Iran retains the capacity to launch irregular strikes at sea through the use of drones, small submarines and its so-called "shadow fleet" of tankers.
The total extent of the destruction caused to Iran's defense infrastructure is still uncertain, with strikes said to be persisting. Photos also indicates extensive damage to the headquarters of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in the city of Tehran.
Numerous of public facilities also appear to have been damaged in the capital and throughout Iran since the hostilities escalated. Toll estimates from local officials indicate that a high number of non-combatants may have been fatally injured in the attacks.
As the situation develops, analysis of satellite imagery will persist to track the evolving scope of damage.