Satellite Photographs Show Iran's Naval Forces and Nuclear Sites Damaged by Joint US and Israeli Airstrikes.
A series of US and Israeli strikes has allegedly sunk or crippled no fewer than eleven warships belonging to Iran starting Saturday, recently obtained aerial photos reveal, with missile bases and enrichment plants also being targeted.
Images of the southerly Konarak naval base and the Bandar Abbas facility, which is located on the strategic Hormuz Strait and houses the headquarters of the Iran's naval force, reveal smoke billowing from several warships on Monday and Tuesday.
Maritime Fleet Sustained Substantial Losses
Included in the ships sunk was the IRINS Makran, the country's biggest warship which had functioned as a unmanned aerial vehicle platform. Satellite images showed black smoke rising from the ship which had been moored at the Bandar Abbas base.
Analytical reports state that no fewer than five vessels at Bandar Abbas were "hit or sunk". Imagery of the southern end of the port show smoke rising from the IRINS Makran, while another pair of ships appear to be damaged, with one of them clearly on fire.
Over at the Konarak base, images reveal numerous harmed vessels, with analysis pointing to impacts on six vessels. Images taken on Monday also show that a number of buildings at the installation have been demolished.
"For a long time the Iran's leadership has threatened global maritime traffic," the head of US Central Command said. "Today, there is no Iranian ship at sea in the Persian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz or Sea of Oman, and we will not stop."
Some vessels reportedly sunk may have been hidden in aerial photos by haze or plumes, or struck at sea, and have not been conclusively proven. Separate reports suggested that one Iranian ship was going down off the coast of Sri Lankan waters, prompting a rescue operation.
Missile Bases and Atomic Facilities Attacked
The destruction of Tehran's launch facilities and the stopping atomic bomb programs were declared as further goals of the offensive. Aerial imagery also revealed impacts against the southerly Khorgu and northwestern Tabriz missile facilities, and at the Konarak base, where missile storage facilities and bunkers were targeted.
Over at the Choqa Balk-e unmanned aircraft site to the west of the city of Kermanshah, significant damage was identified to sheds, bunkers and drone launch equipment.
Damage was also noted at a radar site at the Zahedan airbase airbase in eastern parts of the country, near the border with Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Perhaps most notably, the new round of strikes have apparently targeted facilities at Natanz – long said to be at the center of the country's atomic program. A global monitoring agency stated that the damaged structures were used for access to the site's underground nuclear plant and that "no nuclear fallout" was anticipated.
Broader Consequences and Analysis
Military analysts suggested that the offensive appeared to have "significantly degraded" the Iran's naval ability to conduct standard operations using its biggest warships. However, it was noted that Iran maintains the capacity to launch asymmetric warfare at sea through the use of drones, midget subs and its so-called "clandestine network" of oil ships.
The total extent of the damage caused to Iranian military facilities remains unclear, with attacks reportedly ongoing. Photos also reveals considerable destruction to the main offices of the Iran's Revolutionary Guards in the city of Tehran.
A significant number of non-military structures also appear to have been struck in the capital city and throughout Iran since the fighting began. Casualty figures from local officials suggest that hundreds of civilians may have been lost their lives in the bombardment.
As the situation develops, analysis of satellite imagery will persist to assess the evolving battlefield picture.