Aerial Images Show Iranian Navy and Atomic Locations Struck by Joint US and Israeli Attacks.
Multiple joint airstrikes has according to analysis sunk or crippled no fewer than eleven Iranian naval vessels since Saturday, recently obtained aerial photos reveal, with launch facilities and nuclear sites also being targeted.
Pictures of the southerly Konarak naval military port and the Bandar Abbas port facility, which overlooks the strategic Hormuz Strait and is home to the main command of the Iranian navy, reveal plumes of smoke rising from several vessels on Monday and Tuesday.
Maritime Fleet Sustained Major Damage
Included in the targets eliminated was the IRINS Makran, Iran's biggest warship which had functioned as a drone carrier. Orbital photos displayed black smoke emanating from the ship which had been stationed at the Bandar Abbas base.
Analytical evaluations suggest that no fewer than five ships at the port were "damaged or eliminated". Photos of the southern part of the port reveal smoke emanating from the IRINS Makran, while another pair of ships appear to be impacted, with one visibly ablaze.
Over at the Konarak base, images reveal several harmed vessels, with intelligence reports identifying damage to six vessels. Pictures from Monday also show that a number of buildings at the installation have been demolished.
"For decades the Iranian regime has threatened global maritime traffic," an American commander said. "Now, there is not a single Iranian vessel operational in the Arabian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz or Gulf of Oman, and we will persist."
A number of ships allegedly sunk may have been obscured in aerial photos by haze or plumes, or targeted offshore, and have not been conclusively proven. Additional information indicated that one Iranian ship was going down near Sri Lankan waters, leading to a rescue operation.
Missile Installations and Nuclear Facilities Attacked
Eliminating Tehran's launch facilities and the prevention of atomic bomb programs were declared as other objectives of the military strikes. Aerial imagery also revealed damage at the southerly Khorgu base and north-western Tabriz facilities, and at the Konarak air base, where weapons bunkers and fortifications were targeted.
At the Choqa Balk-e drone unmanned aircraft site west of the city of Kermanshah, widespread damage was observed to sheds, bunkers and unmanned aircraft systems.
Destruction was also noted at a radar installation at the Zahedan airbase airbase in eastern Iran, close to the frontier with Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Perhaps most notably, the new round of strikes have apparently focused on sites at Natanz – widely believed to be at the center of the country's enrichment efforts. The UN's atomic energy body commented that the damaged structures were used for entry to the facility's underground nuclear plant and that "no nuclear fallout" was likely.
Wider Consequences and Assessment
Observers stated that the offensive appeared to have "greatly reduced" the Iran's naval capability to conduct conventional attacks using its largest warships. But, it was noted that Iran still has the option to launch asymmetric warfare at sea through the use of unmanned aerial vehicles, small submarines and its so-called "shadow fleet" of oil ships.
The total scale of the damage caused to Iranian military facilities remains unclear, with hostilities reportedly ongoing. Pictures also indicates considerable damage to the headquarters of the the IRGC in the capital Tehran.
A significant number of non-military structures also appear to have been damaged in the capital and across the country after the fighting started. Toll estimates from inside Iran state that a high number of civilians may have been fatally injured in the bombardment.
As the situation develops, analysis of space-based data will persist to document the unfolding scope of damage.