Space-Based Pictures Reveal Iranian Navy and Atomic Sites Targeted by Joint US and Israeli Attacks.
Multiple American and Israeli attacks has according to analysis sunk or crippled no fewer than eleven Iranian naval vessels since the weekend, new aerial photos reveal, with launch facilities and atomic facilities also being targeted.
Images of the southerly Konarak naval military port and the Bandar Abbas port installation, which overlooks the Strait of Hormuz and is home to the headquarters of the Iran's naval force, reveal black smoke pouring from several ships on Monday and Tuesday.
Naval Forces Incurred Substantial Losses
Among the ships sunk was the IRINS Makran, the country's most sizable ship which had functioned as a unmanned aerial vehicle platform. Aerial imagery showed dark plumes pouring from the vessel which had been moored at the Bandar Abbas naval base.
Intelligence evaluations indicate that no fewer than five ships at the port were "hit or sunk". Imagery of the south end of the port reveal plumes ascending from the IRINS Makran, while additional ships appear to be harmed, with one of them seen burning.
Over at Konarak, images reveal multiple stricken vessels, with analysis pointing to impacts on six ships. Photos taken on Monday also demonstrate that several buildings at the installation have been demolished.
"For a long time the Iranian regime has threatened global maritime traffic," an American commander declared. "Now, there is not one Iranian vessel at sea in the Persian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz or Gulf of Oman, and we will persist."
Some ships allegedly destroyed may have been obscured in aerial photos by weather conditions or battle damage, or targeted offshore, and have not been conclusively proven. Other accounts stated that a ship from Iran was foundering off the coast of Sri Lanka's territorial waters, prompting a rescue operation.
Missile Bases and Nuclear Locations Targeted
Neutralizing Tehran's launch facilities and the hindering of atomic bomb programs were declared as additional goals of the offensive. Aerial imagery also showed damage at the southerly Khorgu base and northwestern Tabriz missile missile bases, and at the Konarak air base, where rocket warehouses and bunkers were targeted.
At the Choqa Balk-e drone unmanned aircraft site to the west of the city of Kermanshah, widespread damage was seen to storage buildings, underground facilities and drone launch equipment.
Destruction was also observed at a radar site at the Zahedan airbase military airport in eastern parts of the country, close to the border with Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Of particular note, the most recent series of strikes have apparently focused on sites at the Natanz complex – considered at the center of Iran's atomic program. A global monitoring agency said that the affected structures were used for entry to the facility's below-ground nuclear plant and that "no nuclear fallout" was likely.
Wider Impact and Analysis
Military analysts stated that the strikes appeared to have "largely neutralized" the Iran's naval capability to sustain traditional warfare using its most significant warships. Nevertheless, it was stressed that Iran still has the ability to launch irregular strikes at sea through the use of drones, small submarines and its so-called "clandestine network" of oil ships.
The full scope of the destruction caused to Iranian military infrastructure has yet to be fully assessed, with hostilities said to be ongoing. Photos also indicates considerable destruction to the main offices of the the IRGC in the capital Tehran.
Numerous of public facilities also appear to have been hit in the capital and throughout the country since the conflict began. Toll estimates from inside Iran state that hundreds of civilians may have been killed in the strikes.
With the conflict ongoing, monitoring of aerial photographs will carry on to assess the unfolding scope of damage.