Orbital Photographs Show Iran's Navy and Atomic Sites Hit by US-Israeli Airstrikes.
A series of American and Israeli attacks has according to analysis destroyed or damaged no fewer than 11 warships belonging to Iran starting Saturday, new orbital imagery reveal, with launch facilities and enrichment plants also coming under fire.
Pictures of the southerly Konarak naval military port and the Bandar Abbas port installation, which overlooks the strategic Hormuz Strait and contains the main command of the Iran's naval force, depict black smoke pouring from several vessels on the start of the week.
Maritime Forces Sustained Substantial Losses
Among the targets eliminated was the IRINS Makran, the country's biggest warship which had functioned as a unmanned aerial vehicle platform. Aerial imagery indicated thick smoke emanating from the ship which had been moored at the Bandar Abbas base.
Intelligence reports state that no fewer than five vessels at the port were "damaged or eliminated". Pictures of the southern part of the port reveal smoke rising from the IRINS Makran, while two other vessels are visibly damaged, with one visibly ablaze.
Over at Konarak, photos reveal numerous stricken vessels, with analysis pointing to damage to a half-dozen warships. Photos taken on the start of the week also show that multiple structures at the installation have been leveled.
"For many years the Iran's leadership has disrupted international shipping," an American commander declared. "At present, there is not a single vessel from Iran at sea in the Persian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz or Sea of Oman, and we will persist."
Some ships reportedly destroyed may have been obscured in satellite images by haze or plumes, or struck at sea, and have not been conclusively proven. Additional information stated that a ship from Iran was foundering off the coast of Sri Lankan territorial waters, resulting in a rescue operation.
Missile Sites and Nuclear Facilities Attacked
The destruction of Tehran's launch facilities and the hindering of nuclear weapons development were stated as other goals of the military strikes. Satellite images also showed damage at the southerly Khorgu base and northwestern Tabriz facilities, and at the Konarak air base, where missile storage facilities and bunkers were hit.
Over at the Choqa Balk-e unmanned aircraft site west of Kermanshah, extensive destruction was identified to storage buildings, underground facilities and drone launch equipment.
Destruction was also seen at a radar site at the Zahedan airbase airbase in eastern Iran, close to the frontier with neighboring nations.
Of particular note, the most recent series of strikes have reportedly targeted sites at Natanz – widely believed to be at the heart of the country's atomic program. The UN's atomic energy body said that the damaged buildings were used for access to the facility's below-ground enrichment facility and that "no nuclear fallout" was expected.
Wider Fallout and Assessment
Military analysts indicated that the strikes appeared to have "largely neutralized" the Iran's naval ability to carry out standard operations using its largest vessels. But, it was noted that Iran still has the capacity to launch unconventional attacks at sea through the use of unmanned aerial vehicles, mini-submarines and its so-called "clandestine network" of oil ships.
The total scope of the destruction caused to Iran's defense facilities remains unclear, with attacks said to be continuing. Pictures also reveals widespread damage to the headquarters of the Iran's Revolutionary Guards in the city of Tehran.
A significant number of civilian buildings also seem to have been damaged in the capital and across Iran since the fighting began. Toll estimates from inside Iran indicate that many hundreds of non-combatants may have been killed in the bombardment.
As the situation develops, review of space-based data will carry on to assess the evolving scope of damage.