Aerial Images Reveal Iran's Navy and Atomic Facilities Hit by American and Israeli Military Action.
A wave of US and Israeli strikes has according to analysis eliminated or harmed a minimum of 11 warships belonging to Iran since the weekend, recently obtained orbital imagery show, with rocket sites and enrichment plants also coming under fire.
Images of the southerly Konarak naval naval base and the Bandar Abbas facility, which is located on the strategic Hormuz Strait and is home to the headquarters of the Iran's naval force, show black smoke pouring from several ships on Monday and Tuesday.
Maritime Assets Incurred Major Losses
Included in the ships sunk was the IRINS Makran, Iran's largest naval vessel which had served as a unmanned aerial vehicle platform. Satellite images showed black smoke emanating from the ship which had been moored at the Bandar Abbas base.
Analytical evaluations indicate that at least five ships at the port were "struck or destroyed". Imagery of the south end of the harbor depict smoke emanating from the IRINS Makran, while two other vessels are visibly harmed, with a single one visibly ablaze.
At Konarak, photos display several damaged ships, with intelligence reports identifying strikes against six ships. Photos from the start of the week also demonstrate that a number of structures at the base have been leveled.
"For a long time the Iran's leadership has harassed global maritime traffic," the head of US Central Command stated. "Now, there is no vessel from Iran at sea in the Persian Gulf, Hormuz Strait or Gulf of Oman, and we will continue."
A number of vessels reportedly sunk may have been obscured in satellite images by cloud or smoke, or struck at sea, and have not been conclusively proven. Additional information suggested that an Iranian vessel was foundering near Sri Lanka's territorial waters, prompting a rescue operation.
Rocket Bases and Atomic Facilities Hit
Eliminating Iran's rocket sites and the stopping enrichment activities were listed as additional goals of the military strikes. Satellite images also revealed impacts against the southerly Khorgu and northwestern Tabriz missile missile bases, and at the Konarak air base, where rocket warehouses and bunkers were hit.
Over at the Choqa Balk-e drone unmanned aircraft site to the west of the city of Kermanshah, widespread damage was observed to sheds, underground facilities and UAV launching apparatus.
Impact was also observed at a radar site at the Zahedan military airport in eastern parts of the country, near the border with neighboring nations.
Of particular note, the latest wave of attacks have apparently focused on installations at Natanz – long said to be at the core of Iran's enrichment efforts. An international watchdog stated that the affected buildings were used for entry to the site's underground nuclear plant and that "no nuclear fallout" was expected.
Broader Consequences and Assessment
Observers stated that the strikes appeared to have "significantly degraded" the Iranian navy's ability to conduct conventional attacks using its most significant warships. But, it was stressed that Iran maintains the ability to launch unconventional attacks at sea through the use of unmanned aerial vehicles, small submarines and its so-called "ghost fleet" of tankers.
The overall scale of the damage caused to Iran's defense infrastructure remains unclear, with hostilities reportedly continuing. Imagery also shows considerable destruction to the headquarters of the the IRGC in the capital Tehran.
A large number of civilian buildings also are reported to have been hit in the capital and across the country since the conflict began. Reports of deaths from inside Iran indicate that a high number of non-combatants may have been fatally injured in the strikes.
Amid continuing hostilities, review of satellite imagery will persist to document the changing battlefield picture.