Orbital Pictures Show Iran's Navy and Atomic Sites Targeted by US-Israeli Airstrikes.
A series of US and Israeli strikes has according to analysis destroyed or damaged at least 11 Iran's navy ships starting Saturday, new orbital imagery show, with launch facilities and nuclear sites also being targeted.
Images of the southerly Konarak naval base and the Bandar Abbas port installation, which overlooks the strategic Hormuz Strait and is home to the main command of the Iranian navy, reveal plumes of smoke rising from a number of vessels on the start of the week.
Naval Forces Sustained Substantial Damage
Among the vessels destroyed was the IRINS Makran, the country's most sizable ship which had functioned as a drone carrier. Orbital photos showed dark plumes emanating from the vessel which had been docked at the Bandar Abbas base.
Analytical assessments state that no fewer than five vessels at Bandar Abbas were "damaged or eliminated". Photos of the southern part of the port depict plumes ascending from the IRINS Makran, while additional vessels appear to be damaged, with a single one visibly ablaze.
At the Konarak base, images display several stricken vessels, with expert review pointing to strikes against six ships. Images taken on the start of the week also indicate that multiple facilities at the base have been demolished.
"For decades the Iranian regime has disrupted global maritime traffic," the head of US Central Command stated. "At present, there is not a single Iranian vessel at sea in the Persian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz or Gulf of Oman, and we will continue."
A number of ships allegedly destroyed may have been hidden in satellite images by haze or plumes, or targeted offshore, and have not been independently verified. Additional information stated that an Iranian vessel was going down off the coast of Sri Lankan territorial waters, leading to a search and rescue mission.
Rocket Bases and Nuclear Locations Attacked
Neutralizing Tehran's launch facilities and the stopping atomic bomb programs were declared as additional aims of the air campaign. Aerial imagery also depicted damage at the southerly Khorgu and northwestern Tabriz facilities, and at the Konarak air air base, where missile storage facilities and fortifications were struck.
At the Choqa Balk-e unmanned aircraft site to the west of Kermanshah, significant damage was seen to storage buildings, underground facilities and drone launch equipment.
Impact was also observed at a radar site at the Zahedan airbase airbase in eastern parts of the country, close to the frontier with neighboring nations.
Significantly, the most recent series of attacks have reportedly targeted facilities at the Natanz complex – considered at the heart of Iran's enrichment efforts. The UN's atomic energy body said that the affected buildings were used for access to the site's below-ground enrichment facility and that "no radiological consequence" was anticipated.
Broader Consequences and Assessment
Defense experts indicated that the strikes appeared to have "significantly degraded" the Iranian navy's ability to conduct standard operations using its biggest vessels. But, it was stressed that Iran still has the option to launch unconventional attacks at sea through the use of drones, mini-submarines and its so-called "shadow fleet" of tankers.
The overall scope of the damage caused to Iranian military infrastructure is still uncertain, with hostilities reportedly persisting. Photos also reveals considerable destruction to the main offices of the Iran's Revolutionary Guards in the capital Tehran.
Numerous of non-military structures also are reported to have been hit in the capital and throughout Iran after the conflict began. Toll estimates from local officials indicate that hundreds of civilians may have been killed in the strikes.
Amid continuing hostilities, monitoring of aerial photographs will persist to document the evolving scope of damage.