Aerial Photographs Depict Iranian Naval Forces and Atomic Sites Targeted by US-Israeli Military Action.

A series of joint attacks has according to analysis sunk or crippled at least 11 warships belonging to Iran starting Saturday, recently obtained satellite images demonstrate, with missile bases and atomic facilities also coming under fire.

Images of the southern Konarak naval military port and the Bandar Abbas port facility, which sits on the Strait of Hormuz and contains the headquarters of the Iranian navy, reveal smoke billowing from multiple ships on the start of the week.

Maritime Forces Incurred Significant Damage

Included in the vessels destroyed was the IRINS Makran, Iran's most sizable ship which had been used as a unmanned aerial vehicle platform. Satellite images indicated black smoke rising from the vessel which had been docked at the Bandar Abbas base.

Analytical reports indicate that at least five vessels at Bandar Abbas were "struck or destroyed". Pictures of the south end of the port show plumes ascending from the Makran, while two other ships are visibly damaged, with a single one seen burning.

Over at the Konarak base, images display numerous stricken ships, with intelligence reports pointing to damage to six ships. Images taken on Monday also demonstrate that a number of facilities at the installation have been demolished.

"For a long time the Iranian regime has disrupted global maritime traffic," the head of US Central Command declared. "At present, there is not a single Iranian ship underway in the Persian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz or Gulf of Oman, and we will not stop."

A number of vessels reportedly sunk may have been obscured in aerial photos by haze or plumes, or targeted offshore, and have not been conclusively proven. Other accounts suggested that one Iranian ship was foundering off the coast of Sri Lanka's territorial waters, leading to a search and rescue mission.

Rocket Bases and Nuclear Facilities Targeted

Eliminating Iran's rocket sites and the prevention of enrichment activities were listed as further objectives of the offensive. Satellite images also depicted impacts against the southerly Khorgu and north-western Tabriz missile missile bases, and at the Konarak air base, where rocket warehouses and bunkers were targeted.

At the Choqa Balk-e drone drone base to the west of the city of Kermanshah, extensive damage was identified to sheds, underground facilities and unmanned aircraft systems.

Damage was also observed at a surveillance station at the Zahedan military airport in eastern Iran, near the frontier with Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Perhaps most notably, the latest wave of strikes have apparently focused on facilities at Natanz – considered at the core of the country's nuclear programme. The UN's atomic energy body said that the damaged structures were used for entry to the site's below-ground nuclear plant and that "no release of radioactive material" was likely.

Wider Consequences and Assessment

Military analysts stated that the offensive appeared to have "largely neutralized" the Iran's naval ability to sustain conventional attacks using its biggest vessels. Nevertheless, it was stressed that Iran still has the ability to launch irregular strikes at sea through the use of unmanned aerial vehicles, midget subs and its so-called "ghost fleet" of tankers.

The full scope of the destruction caused to Iran's defense facilities is still uncertain, with attacks reportedly ongoing. Pictures also shows considerable destruction to the headquarters of the Iran's Revolutionary Guards in the capital Tehran.

A large number of public facilities also are reported to have been damaged in the capital city and throughout Iran since the conflict started. Toll estimates from inside Iran suggest that hundreds of civilians may have been killed in the strikes.

With the conflict ongoing, monitoring of space-based data will continue to assess the changing battlefield picture.

Steve Reed
Steve Reed

Blockchain developer and interoperability specialist, passionate about building decentralized bridges to connect diverse ecosystems.