Space-Based Pictures Show Iranian Naval Forces and Nuclear Locations Damaged by Joint US and Israeli Strikes.
Multiple joint airstrikes has according to analysis eliminated or harmed at least eleven warships belonging to Iran starting the weekend, recently obtained satellite images demonstrate, with rocket sites and nuclear sites also coming under fire.
Images of the southern Konarak naval naval base and the Bandar Abbas port installation, which overlooks the strategic Hormuz Strait and contains the headquarters of the Iranian navy, show plumes of smoke rising from multiple ships on recent days.
Maritime Assets Sustained Major Losses
Among the vessels destroyed was the IRINS Makran, Iran's biggest warship which had been used as a drone carrier. Orbital photos indicated dark plumes pouring from the vessel which had been moored at the Bandar Abbas base.
Analytical reports state that no fewer than a quintet of warships at the port were "hit or sunk". Pictures of the south end of the port reveal plumes ascending from the Makran, while two other vessels are visibly damaged, with a single one visibly ablaze.
Over at the Konarak base, images display several stricken vessels, with analysis identifying strikes against a half-dozen warships. Photos taken on the start of the week also indicate that several facilities at the installation have been destroyed.
"For a long time the Iran's leadership has harassed international shipping," the head of US Central Command said. "At present, there is not one Iranian ship operational in the Arabian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz or Sea of Oman, and we will persist."
Some vessels allegedly destroyed may have been hidden in satellite images by haze or plumes, or hit in open waters, and have not been independently verified. Separate reports suggested that one Iranian ship was going down off the coast of Sri Lanka's territorial waters, prompting a search and rescue mission.
Rocket Installations and Nuclear Facilities Targeted
The destruction of Tehran's launch facilities and the prevention of atomic bomb programs were stated as further goals of the air campaign. Satellite images also revealed impacts against the southern Khorgu base and north-western Tabriz missile bases, and at the Konarak air air base, where weapons bunkers and bunkers were hit.
Over at the Choqa Balk-e UAV facility west of Kermanshah, extensive destruction was identified to storage buildings, bunkers and drone launch equipment.
Damage was also seen at a surveillance station at the Zahedan airbase airbase in eastern Iran, close to the frontier with Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Of particular note, the most recent series of attacks have apparently hit facilities at Natanz – long said to be at the heart of the country's atomic program. An international watchdog commented that the affected structures were used for entry to the site's below-ground nuclear plant and that "no nuclear fallout" was likely.
Broader Fallout and Analysis
Observers indicated that the offensive appeared to have "largely neutralized" the Iran's naval capability to conduct standard operations using its largest warships. However, it was noted that Iran maintains the ability to launch irregular strikes at sea through the use of unmanned aerial vehicles, small submarines and its so-called "clandestine network" of oil ships.
The full extent of the damage caused to Iranian military infrastructure remains unclear, with hostilities reportedly ongoing. Pictures also indicates considerable destruction to the main offices of the Iran's Revolutionary Guards in the city of Tehran.
Numerous of public facilities also are reported to have been damaged in the capital city and across Iran since the fighting escalated. Reports of deaths from ground sources suggest that hundreds of non-combatants may have been fatally injured in the attacks.
As the situation develops, review of space-based data will continue to track the unfolding military landscape.