Orbital Images Depict Iranian Naval Forces and Atomic Facilities Targeted by US-Israeli Military Action.
A wave of American and Israeli strikes has according to analysis sunk or crippled a minimum of eleven Iranian naval vessels starting the weekend, new orbital imagery show, with rocket sites and atomic facilities also being targeted.
Images of the southern Konarak military port and the Bandar Abbas installation, which sits on the Strait of Hormuz and contains the main command of the Iran's naval force, reveal plumes of smoke rising from a number of vessels on the start of the week.
Maritime Assets Incurred Substantial Losses
Included in the targets eliminated was the IRINS Makran, the country's largest naval vessel which had functioned as a unmanned aerial vehicle platform. Aerial imagery indicated black smoke rising from the vessel which had been docked at the Bandar Abbas naval base.
Analytical assessments state that at least five vessels at Bandar Abbas were "struck or destroyed". Imagery of the southern part of the port reveal plumes ascending from the Makran, while another pair of ships are visibly damaged, with a single one clearly on fire.
At the Konarak base, photos display several damaged ships, with analysis identifying damage to a half-dozen warships. Pictures from the start of the week also show that multiple structures at the base have been destroyed.
"For decades the Tehran government has threatened international shipping," the head of US Central Command stated. "At present, there is not a single Iranian vessel operational in the Persian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz or Sea of Oman, and we will not stop."
Some ships allegedly destroyed may have been hidden in satellite images by cloud or smoke, or hit in open waters, and have yet to be fully confirmed. Additional information indicated that one Iranian ship was going down off the coast of Sri Lankan territorial waters, leading to a search and rescue mission.
Rocket Installations and Atomic Facilities Attacked
The destruction of Tehran's launch facilities and the stopping nuclear weapons development were listed as further objectives of the offensive. Satellite images also revealed strikes on the southern Khorgu and north-western Tabriz facilities, and at the Konarak air base, where weapons bunkers and fortifications were targeted.
At the Choqa Balk-e drone UAV facility west of the city of Kermanshah, widespread destruction was identified to storage buildings, bunkers and drone launch equipment.
Damage was also observed at a radar site at the Zahedan airbase airbase in eastern parts of the country, close to the border with neighboring nations.
Of particular note, the new round of attacks have apparently targeted sites at Natanz – considered at the center of Iran's enrichment efforts. An international watchdog said that the damaged structures were used for access to the facility's below-ground nuclear plant and that "no nuclear fallout" was expected.
Wider Consequences and Analysis
Military analysts stated that the attacks appeared to have "largely neutralized" the Iranian navy's ability to sustain conventional attacks using its most significant vessels. But, it was noted that Tehran maintains the option to launch irregular strikes at sea through the use of drones, mini-submarines and its so-called "shadow fleet" of tankers.
The total scale of the destruction caused to Iranian military infrastructure remains unclear, with attacks reportedly continuing. Photos also shows considerable destruction to the headquarters of the the IRGC in the city of Tehran.
A large number of civilian buildings also are reported to have been hit in the capital and throughout the country since the fighting began. Reports of deaths from ground sources state that many hundreds of non-combatants may have been killed in the attacks.
As the situation develops, analysis of aerial photographs will continue to document the evolving scope of damage.