Aerial Pictures Reveal Iran's Navy and Nuclear Locations Damaged by US-Israeli Airstrikes.
A wave of American and Israeli airstrikes has reportedly eliminated or harmed no fewer than 11 Iranian naval vessels since Saturday, new aerial photos demonstrate, with rocket sites and enrichment plants also coming under fire.
Images of the southern Konarak military port and the Bandar Abbas facility, which overlooks the Strait of Hormuz and is home to the headquarters of the Iran's naval force, depict smoke billowing from several vessels on recent days.
Maritime Assets Incurred Major Losses
Among the targets eliminated was the Makran, Iran's most sizable ship which had served as a drone carrier. Aerial imagery indicated dark plumes pouring from the vessel which had been docked at the Bandar Abbas naval base.
Intelligence evaluations state that no fewer than five vessels at the port were "damaged or eliminated". Imagery of the southern end of the harbor show plumes ascending from the IRINS Makran, while two other vessels appear to be impacted, with one of them clearly on fire.
Over at the Konarak base, photos show numerous harmed ships, with intelligence reports pointing to damage to six ships. Images from the start of the week also indicate that multiple structures at the installation have been destroyed.
"For decades the Iranian regime has disrupted international shipping," a senior US military official declared. "Today, there is not one Iranian vessel underway in the Arabian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz or Sea of Oman, and we will not stop."
A number of ships reportedly destroyed may have been concealed in aerial photos by cloud or smoke, or targeted offshore, and have not been conclusively proven. Separate reports stated that one Iranian ship was sinking near Sri Lanka's territorial waters, leading to a search and rescue mission.
Rocket Bases and Atomic Locations Targeted
Eliminating Iran's rocket sites and the hindering of atomic bomb programs were listed as other goals of the military strikes. Aerial imagery also showed strikes on the southerly Khorgu base and north-western Tabriz missile bases, and at the Konarak air base, where rocket warehouses and bunkers were struck.
At the Choqa Balk-e drone base to the west of the city of Kermanshah, widespread damage was seen to storage buildings, underground facilities and unmanned aircraft systems.
Destruction was also seen at a surveillance station at the Zahedan airbase in eastern Iran, near the border with neighboring nations.
Perhaps most notably, the most recent series of attacks have apparently hit facilities at the Natanz complex – long said to be at the center of the country's nuclear programme. The UN's atomic energy body said that the damaged buildings were used for entry to the facility's underground enrichment facility and that "no radiological consequence" was likely.
Wider Impact and Analysis
Defense experts indicated that the strikes appeared to have "largely neutralized" the Iran's naval capability to sustain standard operations using its biggest warships. However, it was noted that Iran still has the capacity to launch unconventional attacks at sea through the use of unmanned aerial vehicles, midget subs and its so-called "shadow fleet" of oil ships.
The overall scale of the destruction caused to Iranian military facilities remains unclear, with strikes said to be continuing. Pictures also shows extensive destruction to the headquarters of the Iran's Revolutionary Guards in the city of Tehran.
Numerous of public facilities also seem to have been hit in the capital city and across Iran since the hostilities started. Toll estimates from local officials state that a high number of civilians may have been lost their lives in the strikes.
With the conflict ongoing, analysis of aerial photographs will carry on to assess the evolving military landscape.