Satellite Images Reveal Iranian Naval Forces and Nuclear Facilities Hit by US-Israeli Attacks.
Multiple US and Israeli attacks has according to analysis destroyed or damaged a minimum of 11 warships belonging to Iran starting Saturday, freshly analyzed satellite images show, with launch facilities and nuclear sites also sustaining hits.
Images of the southern Konarak naval base and the Bandar Abbas installation, which sits on the Strait of Hormuz and contains the main command of the Iran's naval force, show smoke billowing from a number of warships on the start of the week.
Maritime Forces Incurred Major Losses
Among the vessels destroyed was the Makran, Iran's most sizable ship which had been used as a drone carrier. Aerial imagery displayed thick smoke emanating from the vessel which had been docked at the Bandar Abbas base.
Intelligence reports suggest that at least five ships at the port were "hit or sunk". Photos of the southern end of the port depict smoke emanating from the IRINS Makran, while another pair of ships seem to be harmed, with one seen burning.
Over at the Konarak base, images reveal multiple stricken vessels, with expert review pointing to strikes against six ships. Pictures taken on the start of the week also indicate that several buildings at the installation have been destroyed.
"For decades the Tehran government has disrupted commercial vessels," the head of US Central Command said. "Now, there is no Iranian vessel at sea in the Persian Gulf, Hormuz Strait or Gulf of Oman, and we will continue."
Some vessels reportedly sunk may have been concealed in satellite images by cloud or smoke, or hit in open waters, and have not been independently verified. Additional information stated that one Iranian ship was going down off the coast of Sri Lankan waters, prompting a search and rescue mission.
Missile Sites and Nuclear Facilities Hit
Eliminating Iran's rocket sites and the hindering of nuclear weapons development were declared as further goals of the offensive. Satellite images also depicted impacts against the southern Khorgu base and northwestern Tabriz missile facilities, and at the Konarak air air base, where rocket warehouses and bunkers were targeted.
Over at the Choqa Balk-e drone base to the west of the city of Kermanshah, significant damage was observed to storage buildings, underground facilities and unmanned aircraft systems.
Destruction was also noted at a radar installation at the Zahedan airbase military airport in eastern Iran, near the border with neighboring nations.
Perhaps most notably, the latest wave of strikes have reportedly focused on installations at the Natanz complex – long said 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 site's underground nuclear plant and that "no radiological consequence" was likely.
Wider Impact and Analysis
Military analysts suggested that the attacks appeared to have "significantly degraded" the Iran's naval capability to carry out traditional warfare using its most significant warships. Nevertheless, it was noted that Iran still has the capacity to launch irregular strikes at sea through the use of unmanned aerial vehicles, mini-submarines and its so-called "shadow fleet" of tankers.
The total scale of the damage caused to Iran's defense infrastructure has yet to be fully assessed, with attacks said to be persisting. Pictures also reveals extensive damage to the main offices of the Iran's Revolutionary Guards in the city of Tehran.
Numerous of non-military structures also seem to have been hit in the capital city and throughout Iran after the hostilities began. Casualty figures from ground sources indicate that a high number of civilians may have been lost their lives in the bombardment.
As the situation develops, review of satellite imagery will continue to track the changing battlefield picture.