Aerial Imagery Depict Iran's Naval Forces and Nuclear Locations Struck by US-Israeli Airstrikes.
Multiple joint strikes has reportedly eliminated or harmed at least eleven warships belonging to Iran starting the weekend, recently obtained aerial photos reveal, with missile bases and enrichment plants also coming under fire.
Pictures of the southerly Konarak naval base and the Bandar Abbas port facility, which overlooks the strategic Hormuz Strait and contains the headquarters of the Iranian navy, reveal black smoke pouring from a number of warships on Monday and Tuesday.
Maritime Assets Incurred Significant Damage
Among the targets eliminated was the Makran, Iran's biggest warship which had been used as a drone carrier. Orbital photos showed black smoke pouring from the vessel which had been docked at the Bandar Abbas naval base.
Intelligence reports suggest that no fewer than five ships at Bandar Abbas were "struck or destroyed". Pictures of the southern part of the port reveal smoke emanating from the Makran, while two other vessels appear to be impacted, with a single one visibly ablaze.
At the Konarak base, images show numerous stricken vessels, with intelligence reports identifying damage to a half-dozen warships. Pictures from Monday also demonstrate that several structures at the base have been destroyed.
"For a long time the Iranian regime has disrupted international shipping," an American commander said. "At present, there is not one Iranian ship at sea in the Arabian Gulf, Hormuz Strait or Sea of Oman, and we will continue."
Some vessels reportedly destroyed may have been concealed in satellite images by cloud or smoke, or targeted offshore, and have not been conclusively proven. Separate reports indicated that an Iranian vessel was sinking off the coast of Sri Lanka's waters, prompting a search and rescue mission.
Rocket Installations and Atomic Locations Attacked
Neutralizing Iran's rocket sites and the prevention of nuclear weapons development were listed as further aims of the offensive. Aerial imagery also showed impacts against the southern Khorgu and northwestern Tabriz missile missile bases, and at the Konarak air base, where missile storage facilities and bunkers were targeted.
Over at the Choqa Balk-e drone UAV facility to the west of the city of Kermanshah, extensive damage was seen to storage buildings, underground facilities and UAV launching apparatus.
Impact was also noted at a radar installation at the Zahedan airbase airbase in eastern parts of the country, close to the border with Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Perhaps most notably, the new round of attacks have apparently focused on facilities at Natanz – considered at the heart of Iran's nuclear programme. The UN's atomic energy body stated that the damaged buildings were used for access to the site's below-ground nuclear plant and that "no nuclear fallout" was expected.
Broader Impact and Assessment
Military analysts suggested that the attacks appeared to have "largely neutralized" the Iranian navy's capacity to carry out standard operations using its largest vessels. But, it was emphasised that Tehran maintains the capacity to launch irregular strikes at sea through the use of unmanned aerial vehicles, small submarines and its so-called "clandestine network" of oil ships.
The total extent of the destruction caused to Iranian military infrastructure is still uncertain, with hostilities said to be continuing. Photos also indicates widespread destruction to the command center of the Iran's Revolutionary Guards in the city of Tehran.
A significant number of public facilities also seem to have been damaged in the capital and across the country since the hostilities started. Reports of deaths from inside Iran suggest that a high number of civilians may have been fatally injured in the attacks.
With the conflict ongoing, monitoring of aerial photographs will carry on to document the unfolding military landscape.