Orbital Pictures Reveal Iranian Naval Forces and Nuclear Facilities Damaged by American and Israeli Airstrikes.
A wave of joint strikes has allegedly destroyed or damaged a minimum of 11 warships belonging to Iran since the weekend, recently obtained satellite images reveal, with rocket sites and enrichment plants also sustaining hits.
Images of the southern Konarak naval military port and the Bandar Abbas port installation, which sits on the Strait of Hormuz and is home to the main command of the Iran's naval force, reveal smoke billowing from several warships on recent days.
Naval Assets Sustained Significant Damage
Included in the ships sunk was the IRINS Makran, the country's most sizable ship which had functioned as a unmanned aerial vehicle platform. Orbital photos showed thick smoke pouring from the ship which had been stationed at the Bandar Abbas base.
Analytical assessments indicate that at least five ships at Bandar Abbas were "hit or sunk". Pictures of the south end of the harbor reveal plumes ascending from the IRINS Makran, while another pair of ships are visibly damaged, with one seen burning.
Over at Konarak, images display several harmed ships, with expert review pointing to strikes against six vessels. Photos from Monday also show that several facilities at the installation have been leveled.
"For many years the Tehran government has disrupted international shipping," a senior US military official said. "Now, there is no Iranian vessel underway in the Arabian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz or Gulf of Oman, and we will persist."
A number of vessels allegedly sunk may have been obscured in aerial photos by haze or plumes, or struck at sea, and have not been conclusively proven. Additional information stated that one Iranian ship was going down near Sri Lanka's territorial waters, prompting a search and rescue mission.
Missile Installations and Atomic Locations Targeted
Eliminating Tehran's launch facilities and the prevention of atomic bomb programs were stated as additional aims of the offensive. Satellite images also depicted strikes on the southern Khorgu and north-western Tabriz missile facilities, and at the Konarak air base, where missile storage facilities and fortifications were hit.
Over at the Choqa Balk-e UAV facility west of the city of Kermanshah, significant damage was identified to storage buildings, underground facilities and UAV launching apparatus.
Impact was also observed at a radar site at the Zahedan airbase in eastern parts of the country, close to the border with Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Perhaps most notably, the most recent series of attacks have reportedly focused on installations at Natanz – widely believed to be at the core of Iran's enrichment efforts. A global monitoring agency commented that the affected structures were used for access to the site's underground enrichment facility and that "no radiological consequence" was expected.
Broader Consequences and Assessment
Observers suggested that the attacks appeared to have "greatly reduced" the Iran's naval capability to sustain traditional warfare using its biggest warships. However, it was stressed that Tehran still has the option to launch asymmetric warfare at sea through the use of drones, small submarines and its so-called "ghost fleet" of oil ships.
The full scope of the damage caused to Iran's defense facilities has yet to be fully assessed, with strikes said to be continuing. Pictures also reveals widespread destruction to the command center of the the IRGC in the capital Tehran.
A significant number of public facilities also seem to have been hit in the capital city and throughout the country since the hostilities escalated. Casualty figures from inside Iran state that many hundreds of non-combatants may have been fatally injured in the strikes.
With the conflict ongoing, review of satellite imagery will continue to track the unfolding battlefield picture.