Satellite Pictures Show Iran's Naval Forces and Atomic Sites Struck by US-Israeli Military Action.
A wave of American and Israeli airstrikes has allegedly sunk or crippled no fewer than eleven Iran's navy ships since Saturday, new satellite images demonstrate, with rocket sites and enrichment plants also coming under fire.
Pictures of the southern Konarak naval naval base and the Bandar Abbas facility, which overlooks the Strait of Hormuz and houses the main command of the Iranian navy, show black smoke pouring from multiple vessels on the start of the week.
Maritime Forces Incurred Significant Losses
Included in the targets eliminated was the Makran, Iran's biggest warship which had been used as a unmanned aerial vehicle platform. Aerial imagery showed dark plumes emanating from the ship which had been stationed at the Bandar Abbas naval base.
Analytical reports indicate that no fewer than five vessels at the port were "damaged or eliminated". Imagery of the southern part of the harbor depict smoke emanating from the IRINS Makran, while two other vessels seem to be impacted, with a single one seen burning.
Over at Konarak, images display several harmed vessels, with intelligence reports identifying strikes against six vessels. Photos from Monday also indicate that several buildings at the base have been demolished.
"For many years the Iran's leadership has threatened commercial vessels," an American commander said. "At present, there is not one vessel from Iran underway in the Arabian Gulf, Hormuz Strait or Sea of Oman, and we will not stop."
A number of vessels reportedly sunk may have been obscured in satellite images by weather conditions or battle damage, or targeted offshore, and have not been conclusively proven. Separate reports indicated that an Iranian vessel was going down off the coast of Sri Lankan territorial waters, leading to a rescue operation.
Missile Bases and Atomic Facilities Attacked
Neutralizing Iran's rocket sites and the stopping atomic bomb programs were declared as other goals of the air campaign. Aerial imagery also revealed impacts against the southern Khorgu base and north-western Tabriz missile bases, and at the Konarak air base, where rocket warehouses and bunkers were hit.
At the Choqa Balk-e drone base west of the city of Kermanshah, significant destruction was identified to sheds, bunkers and unmanned aircraft systems.
Destruction was also observed at a radar installation at the Zahedan military airport in eastern parts of the country, near the border with neighboring nations.
Perhaps most notably, the new round of strikes have reportedly targeted facilities at Natanz – widely believed to be at the core of the country's atomic program. The UN's atomic energy body stated that the damaged buildings were used for access to the site's below-ground nuclear plant and that "no nuclear fallout" was likely.
Wider Fallout and Analysis
Observers indicated that the strikes appeared to have "significantly degraded" the Iran's naval ability to carry out standard operations using its biggest vessels. But, it was emphasised that Tehran retains the option to launch unconventional attacks at sea through the use of unmanned aerial vehicles, small submarines and its so-called "shadow fleet" of tankers.
The full scope of the damage caused to Iran's defense infrastructure has yet to be fully assessed, with attacks reportedly ongoing. Imagery also shows extensive damage to the main offices of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in the city of Tehran.
A large number of non-military structures also are reported to have been hit in the capital city and across Iran since the fighting started. Reports of deaths from inside Iran indicate that many hundreds of non-combatants may have been lost their lives in the attacks.
Amid continuing hostilities, monitoring of space-based data will continue to track the evolving scope of damage.