Space-Based Pictures Reveal Iranian Navy and Atomic Sites Targeted by American and Israeli Airstrikes.
Multiple American and Israeli airstrikes has allegedly sunk or crippled at least 11 Iran's navy ships since Saturday, recently obtained satellite images reveal, with rocket sites and enrichment plants also being targeted.
Images of the southerly Konarak naval base and the Bandar Abbas port installation, which overlooks the Strait of Hormuz and is home to the headquarters of the Iran's naval force, depict smoke billowing from a number of warships on Monday and Tuesday.
Maritime Forces Incurred Major Damage
Included in the vessels destroyed was the Makran, the country's most sizable ship which had served as a drone carrier. Orbital photos displayed dark plumes pouring from the ship which had been moored at the Bandar Abbas base.
Analytical assessments suggest that at least five ships at Bandar Abbas were "hit or sunk". Photos of the south end of the harbor depict smoke emanating from the IRINS Makran, while another pair of ships are visibly damaged, with one visibly ablaze.
Over at the Konarak base, images show several damaged vessels, with analysis pointing to strikes against a half-dozen warships. Images from Monday also show that a number of buildings at the base have been destroyed.
"For a long time the Iran's leadership has threatened global maritime traffic," the head of US Central Command declared. "Now, there is no Iranian ship underway in the Persian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz or Gulf of Oman, and we will persist."
Some ships allegedly destroyed may have been hidden in aerial photos by weather conditions or battle damage, or hit in open waters, and have yet to be fully confirmed. Additional information suggested that one Iranian ship was going down off the coast of Sri Lankan waters, leading to a rescue operation.
Rocket Installations and Nuclear Facilities Hit
Eliminating Tehran's launch facilities and the stopping atomic bomb programs were declared as other aims of the military strikes. Aerial imagery also showed impacts against the southerly Khorgu base and northwestern Tabriz missile missile bases, and at the Konarak air base, where rocket warehouses and fortifications were targeted.
At the Choqa Balk-e drone unmanned aircraft site west of the city of Kermanshah, extensive destruction was observed to warehouses, bunkers and UAV launching apparatus.
Impact was also seen at a surveillance station at the Zahedan airbase military airport in eastern parts of the country, close to the border with neighboring nations.
Of particular note, the latest wave of strikes have reportedly targeted installations at the Natanz complex – long said to be at the center of the country's atomic program. An international watchdog stated that the damaged buildings were used for entry to the site's below-ground enrichment facility and that "no radiological consequence" was likely.
Wider Fallout and Assessment
Military analysts indicated that the strikes appeared to have "largely neutralized" the Iranian navy's ability to carry out conventional attacks using its most significant vessels. However, it was noted that Tehran maintains the ability to launch irregular strikes at sea through the use of drones, small submarines and its so-called "shadow fleet" of oil ships.
The overall scope of the damage caused to Iran's defense infrastructure is still uncertain, with attacks reportedly continuing. Imagery also indicates extensive damage to the headquarters of the Iran's Revolutionary Guards in the city of Tehran.
A significant number of public facilities also appear to have been damaged in the capital and throughout Iran since the fighting escalated. Reports of deaths from ground sources state that hundreds of civilians may have been fatally injured in the strikes.
Amid continuing hostilities, monitoring of satellite imagery will continue to track the unfolding scope of damage.