Space-Based Pictures Show Iranian Naval Forces and Atomic Locations Hit by US-Israeli Strikes.

Multiple US and Israeli airstrikes has according to analysis destroyed or damaged at least 11 warships belonging to Iran starting the weekend, new satellite images show, with missile bases and enrichment plants also sustaining hits.

Pictures of the southern Konarak naval naval base and the Bandar Abbas port installation, which sits on the Strait of Hormuz and houses the main command of the Iran's naval force, reveal plumes of smoke rising from multiple vessels on recent days.

Maritime Forces Sustained Major Damage

Included in the vessels destroyed was the Makran, Iran's most sizable ship which had functioned as a drone carrier. Aerial imagery displayed black smoke pouring from the vessel which had been docked at the Bandar Abbas base.

Intelligence reports suggest that no fewer than five ships at Bandar Abbas were "hit or sunk". Pictures of the southern part of the port depict smoke emanating from the IRINS Makran, while two other ships appear to be damaged, with one of them visibly ablaze.

At the Konarak base, photos show several harmed vessels, with intelligence reports pointing to strikes against six vessels. Pictures taken on Monday also indicate that multiple buildings at the base have been leveled.

"For decades the Tehran government has disrupted global maritime traffic," the head of US Central Command said. "Today, there is no vessel from Iran operational in the Arabian Gulf, Hormuz Strait or Sea of Oman, and we will persist."

A number of ships reportedly sunk may have been hidden in aerial photos by weather conditions or battle damage, or targeted offshore, and have not been independently verified. Additional information suggested that a ship from Iran was foundering near Sri Lankan territorial waters, resulting in a search and rescue mission.

Missile Sites and Atomic Facilities Hit

Neutralizing Tehran's launch facilities and the hindering of nuclear weapons development were listed as other aims of the military strikes. Satellite images also showed strikes on the southerly Khorgu base and north-western Tabriz missile bases, and at the Konarak air base, where rocket warehouses and fortifications were struck.

Over at the Choqa Balk-e drone drone base west of the city of Kermanshah, significant damage was identified to warehouses, bunkers and drone launch equipment.

Destruction was also seen at a surveillance station at the Zahedan airbase airbase in eastern parts of the country, close to the frontier with neighboring nations.

Perhaps most notably, the latest wave of strikes have reportedly targeted installations at the Natanz complex – long said to be at the center of Iran's nuclear programme. The UN's atomic energy body commented that the damaged buildings were used for entry to the site's underground enrichment facility and that "no radiological consequence" was expected.

Broader Fallout and Analysis

Military analysts stated that the strikes appeared to have "significantly degraded" the Iran's naval capacity to conduct traditional warfare using its biggest warships. Nevertheless, it was stressed that Iran still has the ability to launch irregular strikes at sea through the use of drones, mini-submarines and its so-called "shadow fleet" of tankers.

The total extent of the destruction caused to Iran's defense infrastructure has yet to be fully assessed, with attacks said to be persisting. Pictures also indicates considerable destruction to the command center of the Iran's Revolutionary Guards in the capital Tehran.

Numerous of civilian buildings also seem to have been damaged in the capital and throughout Iran after the hostilities began. Toll estimates from ground sources indicate that hundreds of civilians may have been lost their lives in the attacks.

With the conflict ongoing, analysis of satellite imagery will carry on to assess the unfolding scope of damage.

Dana Jones
Dana Jones

A dedicated eSports journalist with a passion for competitive gaming and community building.