Satellite Pictures Reveal Iran's Navy and Nuclear Facilities Damaged by American and Israeli Military Action.
A wave of US and Israeli attacks has reportedly destroyed or damaged a minimum of eleven Iran's navy ships since the weekend, recently obtained orbital imagery reveal, with missile bases and enrichment plants also sustaining hits.
Pictures of the southern Konarak naval naval base and the Bandar Abbas installation, which is located on the strategic Hormuz Strait and contains the headquarters of the Iranian navy, reveal black smoke pouring from several ships on the start of the week.
Maritime Fleet Sustained Major Damage
Included in the ships sunk was the Makran, the country's largest naval vessel which had functioned as a drone carrier. Aerial imagery displayed dark plumes rising from the ship which had been moored at the Bandar Abbas naval base.
Analytical assessments suggest that at least a quintet of warships at the port were "struck or destroyed". Imagery of the southern end of the harbor depict smoke emanating from the IRINS Makran, while another pair of ships seem to be damaged, with one of them clearly on fire.
Over at Konarak, photos show numerous stricken ships, with intelligence reports identifying damage to six ships. Photos taken on Monday also show that several structures at the base have been demolished.
"For decades the Iran's leadership has threatened international shipping," a senior US military official stated. "Today, there is not one vessel from Iran underway in the Arabian Gulf, Hormuz Strait or Gulf of Oman, and we will not stop."
Some ships allegedly sunk may have been hidden in aerial photos by haze or plumes, or targeted offshore, and have not been conclusively proven. Other accounts suggested that a ship from Iran was sinking off the coast of Sri Lanka's territorial waters, prompting a search and rescue mission.
Rocket Bases and Atomic Locations Attacked
Neutralizing Tehran's launch facilities and the prevention of nuclear weapons development were listed as other goals of the offensive. Aerial imagery also revealed damage at the southern Khorgu base and northwestern Tabriz missile facilities, and at the Konarak air air base, where missile storage facilities and fortifications were struck.
At the Choqa Balk-e unmanned aircraft site to the west of the city of Kermanshah, significant damage was seen to warehouses, underground facilities and unmanned aircraft systems.
Damage was also noted at a radar installation at the Zahedan airbase military airport in eastern Iran, close to the border with neighboring nations.
Significantly, the most recent series of strikes have reportedly hit installations at Natanz – long said to be at the heart of Iran's enrichment efforts. The UN's atomic energy body said that the damaged structures were used for access to the site's underground nuclear plant and that "no radiological consequence" was likely.
Wider Impact and Assessment
Observers indicated that the offensive appeared to have "largely neutralized" the Iran's naval capability to conduct standard operations using its biggest vessels. But, it was noted that Tehran still has the capacity to launch asymmetric warfare at sea through the use of drones, small submarines and its so-called "shadow fleet" of tankers.
The full scope of the damage caused to Iranian military infrastructure remains unclear, with attacks reportedly continuing. Photos also indicates considerable destruction to the headquarters of the Iran's Revolutionary Guards in the city of Tehran.
A large number of public facilities also appear to have been hit in the capital and across the country since the conflict began. Reports of deaths from local officials suggest that many hundreds of civilians may have been killed in the attacks.
Amid continuing hostilities, review of space-based data will continue to document the changing scope of damage.