Satellite Photographs Indicate Iran's Naval Forces and Atomic Locations Struck by US-Israeli Attacks.
A wave of joint airstrikes has according to analysis destroyed or damaged at least 11 warships belonging to Iran starting the weekend, recently obtained orbital imagery demonstrate, with launch facilities and nuclear sites also coming under fire.
Pictures of the southerly Konarak naval base and the Bandar Abbas port facility, which is located on the strategic Hormuz Strait and is home to the main command of the Iran's naval force, depict smoke billowing from multiple vessels on recent days.
Maritime Fleet Sustained Substantial Losses
Included in the targets eliminated was the IRINS Makran, Iran's largest naval vessel which had been used as a unmanned aerial vehicle platform. Orbital photos displayed black smoke emanating from the vessel which had been stationed at the Bandar Abbas naval base.
Intelligence reports indicate that at least five ships at the port were "struck or destroyed". Imagery of the south end of the harbor reveal smoke rising from the IRINS Makran, while two other ships appear to be damaged, with a single one seen burning.
Over at the Konarak base, images show several harmed ships, with expert review identifying impacts on six ships. Pictures from Monday also demonstrate that several facilities at the installation have been demolished.
"For many years the Iran's leadership has harassed global maritime traffic," a senior US military official declared. "At present, there is no Iranian vessel underway in the Persian Gulf, Hormuz Strait or Gulf of Oman, and we will continue."
Some ships reportedly destroyed may have been concealed in satellite images by haze or plumes, or targeted offshore, and have not been conclusively proven. Separate reports stated that a ship from Iran was foundering off the coast of Sri Lanka's waters, prompting a search and rescue mission.
Rocket Sites and Nuclear Facilities Targeted
The destruction of Tehran's launch facilities and the stopping nuclear weapons development were declared as other goals of the military strikes. Aerial imagery also revealed strikes on the southerly Khorgu base and northwestern Tabriz missile bases, and at the Konarak air base, where rocket warehouses and bunkers were hit.
At the Choqa Balk-e drone base to the west of Kermanshah, widespread damage was seen to warehouses, underground facilities and UAV launching apparatus.
Impact was also seen at a radar site at the Zahedan airbase airbase in eastern Iran, near the frontier with Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Significantly, the latest wave of strikes have reportedly focused on facilities at Natanz – considered at the center of the country's enrichment efforts. An international watchdog said that the damaged structures were used for entry to the facility's underground nuclear plant and that "no nuclear fallout" was expected.
Wider Fallout and Analysis
Defense experts stated that the offensive appeared to have "largely neutralized" the Iranian navy's ability to conduct conventional attacks using its most significant vessels. Nevertheless, it was stressed that Tehran still has the ability to launch asymmetric warfare at sea through the use of drones, midget subs and its so-called "shadow fleet" of oil ships.
The full scope of the damage caused to Iran's defense infrastructure remains unclear, with hostilities said to be ongoing. Pictures also shows extensive damage to the headquarters of the Iran's Revolutionary Guards in the city of Tehran.
Numerous of civilian buildings also appear to have been hit in the capital and across the country after the conflict began. Reports of deaths from ground sources suggest that hundreds of non-combatants may have been lost their lives in the strikes.
As the situation develops, review of aerial photographs will carry on to track the evolving scope of damage.