Aerial Imagery Depict Iranian Naval Forces and Nuclear Sites Hit by US-Israeli Attacks.
Multiple joint strikes has allegedly eliminated or harmed at least 11 Iran's navy ships starting the weekend, recently obtained aerial photos reveal, with rocket sites and enrichment plants also sustaining hits.
Images of the southern Konarak naval military port and the Bandar Abbas port facility, which overlooks the Strait of Hormuz and contains the main command of the Iran's naval force, reveal smoke billowing from a number of vessels on Monday and Tuesday.
Naval Assets Incurred Major Damage
Among the vessels destroyed was the IRINS Makran, Iran's most sizable ship which had served as a drone carrier. Satellite images indicated black smoke rising from the ship which had been docked at the Bandar Abbas naval base.
Analytical evaluations indicate that no fewer than five ships at the port were "hit or sunk". Imagery of the south end of the harbor reveal smoke emanating from the IRINS Makran, while additional ships appear to be damaged, with a single one visibly ablaze.
Over at the Konarak base, images reveal numerous damaged ships, with expert review pointing to impacts on a half-dozen warships. Photos taken on the start of the week also indicate that a number of structures at the base have been destroyed.
"For decades the Iranian regime has disrupted global maritime traffic," a senior US military official declared. "At present, there is no Iranian ship at sea in the Arabian Gulf, Hormuz Strait or Sea of Oman, and we will persist."
A number of ships allegedly sunk may have been concealed in satellite images by weather conditions or battle damage, or targeted offshore, and have not been independently verified. Separate reports suggested that one Iranian ship was sinking off the coast of Sri Lanka's territorial waters, prompting a search and rescue mission.
Rocket Sites and Atomic Facilities Targeted
Eliminating Iran's rocket sites and the prevention of nuclear weapons development were listed as other objectives of the military strikes. Aerial imagery also revealed impacts against the southern Khorgu base and north-western Tabriz missile missile bases, and at the Konarak air base, where rocket warehouses and fortifications were struck.
At the Choqa Balk-e drone UAV facility to the west of the city of Kermanshah, significant damage was observed to storage buildings, underground facilities and UAV launching apparatus.
Destruction was also noted at a radar installation at the Zahedan airbase in eastern parts of the country, close to the border with Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Significantly, the new round of strikes have apparently focused on facilities at the Natanz complex – long said to be at the core of Iran's enrichment efforts. A global monitoring agency said that the affected structures were used for entry to the facility's underground nuclear plant and that "no release of radioactive material" was anticipated.
Wider Fallout and Assessment
Military analysts suggested that the attacks appeared to have "greatly reduced" the Iran's naval capability to sustain conventional attacks using its biggest vessels. However, it was noted that Tehran still has the ability to launch asymmetric warfare at sea through the use of drones, small submarines and its so-called "clandestine network" of tankers.
The overall scale of the damage caused to Iranian military infrastructure remains unclear, with hostilities reportedly ongoing. Imagery also reveals widespread destruction to the main offices of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in the capital Tehran.
A large number of non-military structures also are reported to have been struck in the capital city and throughout the country after the conflict escalated. Reports of deaths from ground sources indicate that many hundreds of non-combatants may have been lost their lives in the attacks.
Amid continuing hostilities, monitoring of satellite imagery will carry on to track the changing military landscape.