Space-Based Pictures Show Iranian Navy and Nuclear Facilities Hit by American and Israeli Airstrikes.
Multiple joint attacks has allegedly eliminated or harmed no fewer than eleven Iranian naval vessels since Saturday, freshly analyzed aerial photos show, with rocket sites and nuclear sites also sustaining hits.
Images of the southern Konarak naval military port and the Bandar Abbas facility, which is located on the strategic Hormuz Strait and contains the main command of the Iran's naval force, show plumes of smoke rising from a number of warships on the start of the week.
Maritime Assets Sustained Substantial Losses
Included in the vessels destroyed was the IRINS Makran, Iran's biggest warship which had served as a unmanned aerial vehicle platform. Aerial imagery showed dark plumes emanating from the ship which had been stationed at the Bandar Abbas naval base.
Analytical reports indicate that no fewer than a quintet of warships at Bandar Abbas were "hit or sunk". Photos of the southern end of the port depict smoke rising from the IRINS Makran, while additional ships seem to be harmed, with one of them seen burning.
At the Konarak base, photos display several damaged ships, with intelligence reports identifying impacts on six vessels. Photos taken on the start of the week also demonstrate that a number of buildings at the base have been destroyed.
"For a long time the Iran's leadership has harassed commercial vessels," an American commander stated. "At present, there is not a single Iranian vessel at sea in the Arabian Gulf, Hormuz Strait or Sea of Oman, and we will continue."
A number of ships allegedly sunk may have been hidden in aerial photos by weather conditions or battle damage, or struck at sea, and have yet to be fully confirmed. Separate reports indicated that a ship from Iran was sinking off the coast of Sri Lanka's waters, resulting in a search and rescue mission.
Missile Installations and Atomic Locations Attacked
Eliminating Tehran's launch facilities and the hindering of enrichment activities were stated as other goals of the military strikes. Satellite images also showed impacts against the southern Khorgu and northwestern Tabriz facilities, and at the Konarak base, where rocket warehouses and bunkers were struck.
Over at the Choqa Balk-e drone drone base west of Kermanshah, significant destruction was identified to warehouses, bunkers and drone launch equipment.
Destruction was also noted at a surveillance station at the Zahedan airbase military airport in eastern Iran, close to the frontier with neighboring nations.
Perhaps most notably, the most recent series of attacks have reportedly hit installations at the Natanz complex – widely believed to be at the center of Iran's enrichment efforts. The UN's atomic energy body stated that the affected buildings were used for entry to the site's underground nuclear plant and that "no nuclear fallout" was likely.
Broader Fallout and Assessment
Defense experts suggested that the attacks appeared to have "greatly reduced" the Iran's naval ability to sustain traditional warfare using its most significant warships. But, it was stressed that Iran retains the option to launch irregular strikes at sea through the use of unmanned aerial vehicles, midget subs and its so-called "ghost fleet" of oil ships.
The overall scale of the damage caused to Iran's defense infrastructure has yet to be fully assessed, with attacks said to be ongoing. Photos also indicates widespread destruction to the main offices of the the IRGC in the city of Tehran.
Numerous of non-military structures also appear to have been hit in the capital city and throughout the country since the hostilities escalated. Reports of deaths from ground sources state that many hundreds of civilians may have been fatally injured in the attacks.
As the situation develops, analysis of aerial photographs will continue to track the evolving battlefield picture.