Aerial Imagery Show Iran's Naval Forces and Nuclear Locations Hit by US-Israeli Attacks.
A wave of American and Israeli airstrikes has allegedly destroyed or damaged a minimum of 11 Iran's navy ships since Saturday, recently obtained orbital imagery show, with rocket sites and enrichment plants also sustaining hits.
Pictures of the southerly Konarak military port and the Bandar Abbas port installation, which is located on the Strait of Hormuz and houses the main command of the Iranian navy, show smoke billowing from multiple vessels on recent days.
Naval Assets Incurred Substantial Damage
Included in the targets eliminated was the IRINS Makran, the country's biggest warship which had functioned as a drone carrier. Satellite images indicated black smoke pouring from the vessel which had been moored at the Bandar Abbas base.
Intelligence evaluations suggest that at least a quintet of warships at the port were "hit or sunk". Photos of the south end of the harbor depict smoke emanating from the IRINS Makran, while additional ships seem to be impacted, with one clearly on fire.
Over at Konarak, images reveal multiple harmed ships, with analysis identifying impacts on six ships. Photos taken on Monday also show that multiple facilities at the installation have been destroyed.
"For decades the Tehran government has disrupted commercial vessels," the head of US Central Command stated. "Now, there is not a single vessel from Iran at sea in the Arabian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz or Sea of Oman, and we will not stop."
A number of ships allegedly sunk may have been concealed in satellite images by haze or plumes, or struck at sea, and have not been conclusively proven. Other accounts indicated that one Iranian ship was going down off the coast of Sri Lanka's waters, resulting in a rescue operation.
Missile Bases and Nuclear Facilities Targeted
Neutralizing Tehran's launch facilities and the prevention of nuclear weapons development were stated as further aims of the military strikes. Aerial imagery also revealed strikes on the southern Khorgu and north-western Tabriz missile facilities, and at the Konarak air base, where weapons bunkers and bunkers were targeted.
At the Choqa Balk-e drone UAV facility to the west of the city of Kermanshah, extensive damage was identified to storage buildings, bunkers and UAV launching apparatus.
Destruction was also seen at a surveillance station at the Zahedan airbase military airport in eastern parts of the country, close to the frontier with Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Of particular note, the latest wave of attacks have apparently focused on installations at Natanz – considered at the core of Iran's atomic program. A global monitoring agency said that the affected structures were used for access to the site's below-ground enrichment facility and that "no release of radioactive material" was anticipated.
Broader Fallout and Assessment
Defense experts indicated that the attacks appeared to have "largely neutralized" the Iran's naval ability to carry out traditional warfare using its largest warships. However, it was noted that Tehran maintains the capacity to launch asymmetric warfare at sea through the use of drones, mini-submarines and its so-called "shadow fleet" of oil ships.
The full scale of the damage caused to Iranian military infrastructure is still uncertain, with strikes reportedly continuing. Imagery also indicates widespread destruction to the main offices of the the IRGC in the capital Tehran.
A significant number of civilian buildings also appear to have been damaged in the capital city and throughout Iran since the fighting started. Casualty figures from inside Iran state that a high number of non-combatants may have been fatally injured in the attacks.
Amid continuing hostilities, review of aerial photographs will continue to document the evolving battlefield picture.