Space-Based Photographs Depict Iranian Naval Forces and Nuclear Locations Targeted by Joint US and Israeli Strikes.
A wave of US and Israeli strikes has reportedly destroyed or damaged no fewer than eleven Iran's navy ships starting Saturday, recently obtained satellite images reveal, with rocket sites and atomic facilities also coming under fire.
Images of the southerly Konarak naval base and the Bandar Abbas port facility, which sits on the strategic Hormuz Strait and is home to the main command of the Iran's naval force, reveal black smoke pouring from several warships on Monday and Tuesday.
Naval Forces Sustained Substantial Losses
Among the vessels destroyed was the IRINS Makran, Iran's biggest warship which had served as a drone carrier. Satellite images indicated dark plumes rising from the vessel which had been moored at the Bandar Abbas naval base.
Analytical reports suggest that no fewer than five vessels at Bandar Abbas were "struck or destroyed". Photos of the south end of the port show smoke rising from the IRINS Makran, while two other vessels are visibly impacted, with a single one seen burning.
Over at the Konarak base, photos display several stricken vessels, with intelligence reports identifying damage to six vessels. Pictures taken on Monday also show that several buildings at the installation have been leveled.
"For many years the Iran's leadership has harassed international shipping," a senior US military official said. "At present, there is not one vessel from Iran at sea in the Persian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz or Gulf of Oman, and we will not stop."
Some vessels allegedly sunk may have been hidden in aerial photos by weather conditions or battle damage, or hit in open waters, and have not been independently verified. Other accounts suggested that one Iranian ship was sinking near Sri Lanka's waters, prompting a rescue operation.
Missile Sites and Atomic Locations Hit
Neutralizing Iranian missile bases and the prevention of enrichment activities were declared as other goals of the air campaign. Satellite images also depicted strikes on the southern Khorgu and northwestern Tabriz missile bases, and at the Konarak air air base, where weapons bunkers and fortifications were hit.
Over at the Choqa Balk-e drone unmanned aircraft site to the west of the city of Kermanshah, significant damage was identified to warehouses, underground facilities and unmanned aircraft systems.
Damage was also seen at a surveillance station at the Zahedan military airport in eastern Iran, close to the frontier with neighboring nations.
Perhaps most notably, the latest wave of attacks have apparently hit sites at the Natanz complex – considered at the heart of the country's atomic program. An international watchdog said that the affected structures were used for entry to the facility's underground enrichment facility and that "no nuclear fallout" was anticipated.
Broader Fallout and Analysis
Defense experts stated that the attacks appeared to have "significantly degraded" the Iranian navy's ability to carry out standard operations using its most significant vessels. But, it was noted that Tehran still has the capacity to launch irregular strikes at sea through the use of drones, small submarines and its so-called "shadow fleet" of oil ships.
The overall scope of the destruction caused to Iran's defense facilities has yet to be fully assessed, with strikes reportedly continuing. Pictures also reveals widespread destruction to the headquarters of the Iran's Revolutionary Guards in the capital Tehran.
A large number of public facilities also are reported to have been struck in the capital and across Iran after the hostilities escalated. Casualty figures from ground sources suggest that hundreds of civilians may have been killed in the bombardment.
With the conflict ongoing, monitoring of space-based data will persist to document the unfolding scope of damage.