Satellite Imagery Depict Iranian Naval Forces and Atomic Facilities Hit by US-Israeli Military Action.

A series of US and Israeli attacks has according to analysis eliminated or harmed a minimum of 11 Iran's navy ships since the weekend, new aerial photos reveal, with missile bases and nuclear sites also coming under fire.

Photographs of the southerly Konarak military port and the Bandar Abbas port installation, which sits on the strategic Hormuz Strait and contains the main command of the Iranian navy, show smoke billowing from a number of warships on Monday and Tuesday.

Naval Forces Sustained Substantial Losses

Among the vessels destroyed was the IRINS Makran, Iran's biggest warship which had served as a drone carrier. Satellite images showed thick smoke rising from the ship which had been docked at the Bandar Abbas base.

Intelligence assessments suggest that no fewer than five ships at Bandar Abbas were "struck or destroyed". Photos of the southern part of the harbor depict plumes ascending from the Makran, while two other vessels appear to be harmed, with one of them clearly on fire.

At the Konarak base, photos display several harmed vessels, with analysis identifying impacts on six ships. Photos from Monday also show that several buildings at the base have been destroyed.

"For decades the Iranian regime has harassed commercial vessels," an American commander said. "Today, there is no vessel from Iran at sea in the Persian Gulf, Hormuz Strait or Sea of Oman, and we will persist."

Some ships reportedly destroyed may have been hidden in satellite images by haze or plumes, or hit in open waters, and have not been independently verified. Additional information indicated that one Iranian ship was going down off the coast of Sri Lankan waters, resulting in a rescue operation.

Missile Installations and Atomic Locations Attacked

Eliminating Iranian missile bases and the prevention of enrichment activities were declared as additional goals of the air campaign. Satellite images also depicted impacts against the southerly Khorgu base and north-western Tabriz missile bases, and at the Konarak air base, where rocket warehouses and bunkers were struck.

Over at the Choqa Balk-e drone UAV facility west of Kermanshah, extensive damage was observed to warehouses, bunkers and unmanned aircraft systems.

Damage was also seen at a surveillance station at the Zahedan airbase airbase in eastern Iran, close to the frontier with Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Significantly, the most recent series of strikes have reportedly focused on facilities at the Natanz complex – widely believed to be at the heart of the country's atomic program. The UN's atomic energy body said that the affected buildings were used for entry to the facility's below-ground nuclear plant and that "no release of radioactive material" was anticipated.

Broader Fallout and Assessment

Observers stated that the attacks appeared to have "largely neutralized" the Iran's naval ability to conduct traditional warfare using its most significant vessels. But, it was noted that Iran maintains the ability to launch irregular strikes at sea through the use of drones, small submarines and its so-called "shadow fleet" of tankers.

The total scale of the damage caused to Iranian military infrastructure has yet to be fully assessed, with hostilities said to be ongoing. Photos also indicates extensive destruction to the headquarters of the Iran's Revolutionary Guards in the city of Tehran.

A large number of non-military structures also are reported to have been hit in the capital city and throughout the country since the conflict escalated. Reports of deaths from ground sources state that hundreds of non-combatants may have been fatally injured in the bombardment.

As the situation develops, monitoring of aerial photographs will carry on to document the evolving scope of damage.

Wayne Hall
Wayne Hall

Wildlife biologist and conservationist with over a decade of experience studying sloths in Central and South America.