Satellite Photographs Indicate Iran's Naval Forces and Atomic Locations Hit by American and Israeli Attacks.
A series of US and Israeli strikes has allegedly destroyed or damaged at least eleven warships belonging to Iran starting Saturday, recently obtained satellite images reveal, with rocket sites and enrichment plants also coming under fire.
Photographs of the southerly Konarak naval military port and the Bandar Abbas facility, which is located on the Strait of Hormuz and contains the headquarters of the Iran's naval force, show smoke billowing from multiple vessels on recent days.
Naval Assets Sustained Major Damage
Included in the targets eliminated was the IRINS Makran, Iran's largest naval vessel which had served as a drone carrier. Aerial imagery showed dark plumes pouring from the ship which had been stationed at the Bandar Abbas base.
Intelligence evaluations suggest that no fewer than five ships at Bandar Abbas were "hit or sunk". Photos of the south end of the port depict plumes ascending from the IRINS Makran, while two other ships are visibly harmed, with one visibly ablaze.
Over at Konarak, photos reveal several harmed ships, with intelligence reports identifying damage to a half-dozen warships. Photos from the start of the week also indicate that multiple buildings at the installation have been destroyed.
"For decades the Iran's leadership has threatened commercial vessels," the head of US Central Command stated. "Now, there is no Iranian vessel underway in the Persian Gulf, Hormuz Strait or Sea of Oman, and we will continue."
A number of vessels reportedly destroyed may have been concealed in aerial photos by weather conditions or battle damage, or targeted offshore, and have yet to be fully confirmed. Additional information suggested that an Iranian vessel was foundering off the coast of Sri Lankan territorial waters, resulting in a search and rescue mission.
Rocket Sites and Atomic Facilities Attacked
Neutralizing Iranian missile bases and the prevention of enrichment activities were listed as further aims of the air campaign. Aerial imagery also showed strikes on the southerly Khorgu and north-western Tabriz missile facilities, and at the Konarak air base, where rocket warehouses and fortifications were struck.
At the Choqa Balk-e drone drone base west of Kermanshah, widespread damage was seen to sheds, bunkers and unmanned aircraft systems.
Damage was also noted at a radar installation at the Zahedan airbase airbase in eastern Iran, near the frontier with Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Of particular note, the latest wave of attacks have reportedly focused on facilities at the Natanz complex – widely believed to be at the center of the country's nuclear programme. An international watchdog stated that the damaged buildings were used for access to the site's below-ground nuclear plant and that "no nuclear fallout" was anticipated.
Wider Fallout and Analysis
Defense experts stated that the attacks appeared to have "largely neutralized" the Iran's naval ability to conduct standard operations using its largest warships. But, it was noted that Tehran still has the ability to launch unconventional attacks at sea through the use of unmanned aerial vehicles, mini-submarines and its so-called "shadow fleet" of oil ships.
The total scale of the damage caused to Iran's defense facilities has yet to be fully assessed, with attacks said to be continuing. Photos also reveals extensive damage to the headquarters of the the IRGC in the capital Tehran.
Numerous of public facilities also appear to have been struck in the capital city and across Iran since the hostilities escalated. Reports of deaths from local officials indicate that a high number of non-combatants may have been killed in the bombardment.
As the situation develops, review of satellite imagery will carry on to assess the unfolding military landscape.