Orbital Pictures Show Iranian Navy and Nuclear Sites Targeted by US-Israeli Airstrikes.
Multiple American and Israeli attacks has according to analysis eliminated or harmed a minimum of 11 Iranian naval vessels since the weekend, freshly analyzed orbital imagery show, with missile bases and enrichment plants also being targeted.
Photographs of the southern Konarak naval naval base and the Bandar Abbas port facility, which sits on the Strait of Hormuz and houses the headquarters of the Iran's naval force, show plumes of smoke rising from multiple warships on recent days.
Naval Fleet Sustained Major Losses
Included in the vessels destroyed was the IRINS Makran, Iran's biggest warship which had functioned as a drone carrier. Satellite images showed dark plumes rising from the ship which had been docked at the Bandar Abbas base.
Intelligence evaluations suggest that at least a quintet of warships at the port were "hit or sunk". Photos of the south end of the harbor show plumes ascending from the IRINS Makran, while another pair of vessels seem to be damaged, with one of them visibly ablaze.
At the Konarak base, photos show numerous stricken ships, with expert review pointing to impacts on six vessels. Images taken on the start of the week also show that a number of structures at the installation have been leveled.
"For a long time the Iranian regime has threatened global maritime traffic," an American commander stated. "At present, there is not a single vessel from Iran underway in the Arabian Gulf, Hormuz Strait or Sea of Oman, and we will not stop."
A number of vessels reportedly destroyed may have been hidden in satellite images by cloud or smoke, or struck at sea, and have yet to be fully confirmed. Other accounts suggested that one Iranian ship was going down near Sri Lanka's waters, prompting a search and rescue mission.
Missile Sites and Atomic Facilities Attacked
Eliminating Tehran's launch facilities and the hindering of enrichment activities were stated as other objectives of the offensive. Satellite images also revealed strikes on the southerly Khorgu and north-western Tabriz missile missile bases, and at the Konarak air base, where weapons bunkers and fortifications were hit.
At the Choqa Balk-e drone UAV facility west of the city of Kermanshah, significant destruction was seen to warehouses, bunkers and UAV launching apparatus.
Damage was also noted at a radar installation at the Zahedan airbase airbase in eastern Iran, close to the border with Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Of particular note, the new round of strikes have apparently targeted installations at the Natanz complex – considered at the heart of the country's nuclear programme. An international watchdog commented that the damaged buildings were used for entry to the site's below-ground nuclear plant and that "no nuclear fallout" was expected.
Wider Fallout and Assessment
Defense experts stated that the offensive appeared to have "significantly degraded" the Iran's naval ability to carry out conventional attacks using its biggest vessels. But, it was noted that Iran still has the ability to launch unconventional attacks at sea through the use of drones, midget subs and its so-called "ghost fleet" of tankers.
The overall scope of the destruction caused to Iranian military infrastructure has yet to be fully assessed, with attacks reportedly persisting. Photos also shows considerable damage to the main offices of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in the capital Tehran.
Numerous of public facilities also appear to have been struck in the capital city and throughout the country after the conflict started. Toll estimates from local officials state that a high number of non-combatants may have been killed in the strikes.
With the conflict ongoing, review of space-based data will continue to document the unfolding scope of damage.