Orbital Pictures Depict Iranian Navy and Nuclear Locations Targeted by Joint US and Israeli Attacks.
A series of American and Israeli strikes has allegedly eliminated or harmed a minimum of eleven Iran's navy ships since Saturday, new aerial photos reveal, with missile bases and atomic facilities also sustaining hits.
Images of the southerly Konarak naval base and the Bandar Abbas port installation, which sits on the Strait of Hormuz and houses the headquarters of the Iran's naval force, reveal plumes of smoke rising from a number of warships on recent days.
Naval Forces Sustained Significant Damage
Among the vessels destroyed was the Makran, the country's biggest warship which had served as a drone carrier. Aerial imagery displayed thick smoke emanating from the vessel which had been stationed at the Bandar Abbas base.
Intelligence reports indicate that no fewer than five ships at the port were "damaged or eliminated". Pictures of the southern part of the port show smoke emanating from the IRINS Makran, while another pair of ships are visibly harmed, with one visibly ablaze.
At the Konarak base, images reveal numerous damaged ships, with intelligence reports identifying impacts on six ships. Pictures from Monday also indicate that a number of facilities at the base have been leveled.
"For decades the Tehran government has threatened global maritime traffic," an American commander stated. "Now, there is not one vessel from Iran operational in the Persian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz or Sea of Oman, and we will persist."
A number of ships reportedly sunk may have been concealed in satellite images by haze or plumes, or hit in open waters, and have not been independently verified. Separate reports suggested that one Iranian ship was foundering off the coast of Sri Lankan waters, leading to a rescue operation.
Rocket Installations and Atomic Facilities Hit
Neutralizing Tehran's launch facilities and the stopping enrichment activities were stated as further goals of the offensive. Aerial imagery also showed strikes on the southerly Khorgu and north-western Tabriz missile missile bases, and at the Konarak base, where weapons bunkers and fortifications were targeted.
Over at the Choqa Balk-e drone unmanned aircraft site west of Kermanshah, significant damage was identified to storage buildings, bunkers and UAV launching apparatus.
Impact was also observed at a radar site at the Zahedan airbase in eastern Iran, near the border with Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Perhaps most notably, the latest wave of strikes have apparently hit sites at Natanz – long said to be at the heart of Iran's atomic program. The UN's atomic energy body said that the affected buildings were used for access to the site's below-ground nuclear plant and that "no radiological consequence" was likely.
Wider Consequences and Analysis
Observers suggested that the offensive appeared to have "largely neutralized" the Iranian navy's capability to sustain traditional warfare using its biggest warships. But, it was noted that Iran maintains the option to launch asymmetric warfare at sea through the use of drones, small submarines and its so-called "shadow fleet" of oil ships.
The total scope of the damage caused to Iranian military infrastructure has yet to be fully assessed, with attacks said to be continuing. Photos also shows considerable damage to the headquarters of the Iran's Revolutionary Guards in the city of Tehran.
A large number of civilian buildings also appear to have been damaged in the capital and across the country after the fighting escalated. Casualty figures from inside Iran state that a high number of civilians may have been killed in the bombardment.
As the situation develops, review of aerial photographs will carry on to assess the evolving battlefield picture.