Aerial Pictures Reveal Iran's Naval Forces and Nuclear Locations Struck by American and Israeli Airstrikes.
Multiple American and Israeli strikes has according to analysis sunk or crippled a minimum of eleven Iranian naval vessels since Saturday, new orbital imagery reveal, with launch facilities and atomic facilities also coming under fire.
Photographs of the southerly Konarak naval naval base and the Bandar Abbas port installation, which overlooks the strategic Hormuz Strait and houses the headquarters of the Iran's naval force, reveal plumes of smoke rising from several ships on the start of the week.
Naval Forces Sustained Major Losses
Among the ships sunk was the Makran, the country's biggest warship which had served as a unmanned aerial vehicle platform. Satellite images showed black smoke emanating from the vessel which had been docked at the Bandar Abbas naval base.
Analytical evaluations indicate that no fewer than a quintet of warships at Bandar Abbas were "hit or sunk". Imagery of the south end of the port depict smoke rising from the Makran, while additional ships seem to be impacted, with one of them seen burning.
At Konarak, images show numerous stricken vessels, with expert review pointing to strikes against six vessels. Photos taken on the start of the week also demonstrate that a number of facilities at the base have been destroyed.
"For a long time the Iranian regime has harassed global maritime traffic," the head of US Central Command said. "Now, there is no Iranian ship at sea in the Arabian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz or Gulf of Oman, and we will persist."
Some vessels allegedly sunk may have been concealed in aerial photos by cloud or smoke, or targeted offshore, and have not been independently verified. Separate reports suggested that a ship from Iran was foundering near Sri Lankan territorial waters, resulting in a rescue operation.
Missile Sites and Atomic Locations Hit
The destruction of Tehran's launch facilities and the prevention of nuclear weapons development were declared as further objectives of the offensive. Aerial imagery also showed strikes on the southern Khorgu and northwestern Tabriz missile facilities, and at the Konarak air base, where missile storage facilities and bunkers were targeted.
At the Choqa Balk-e drone UAV facility to the west of the city of Kermanshah, widespread damage was observed to storage buildings, bunkers and UAV launching apparatus.
Damage was also observed at a surveillance station at the Zahedan airbase in eastern Iran, near the frontier with neighboring nations.
Perhaps most notably, the new round of attacks have reportedly targeted facilities at Natanz – considered at the center of Iran's atomic program. The UN's atomic energy body stated that the affected structures were used for entry to the site's underground nuclear plant and that "no nuclear fallout" was likely.
Broader Fallout and Analysis
Military analysts stated that the strikes appeared to have "greatly reduced" the Iranian navy's capacity to sustain traditional warfare using its most significant vessels. Nevertheless, it was emphasised that Tehran maintains the option to launch asymmetric warfare at sea through the use of drones, mini-submarines and its so-called "ghost fleet" of oil ships.
The overall extent of the destruction caused to Iranian military infrastructure is still uncertain, with attacks reportedly persisting. Photos also shows extensive destruction to the headquarters of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in the city of Tehran.
A large number of non-military structures also seem to have been struck in the capital and across the country after the hostilities escalated. Reports of deaths from ground sources suggest that many hundreds of non-combatants may have been lost their lives in the attacks.
As the situation develops, review of satellite imagery will persist to assess the changing military landscape.