Multiple American and Israeli strikes has allegedly destroyed or damaged no fewer than eleven Iran's navy ships since Saturday, new orbital imagery show, with launch facilities and atomic facilities also coming under fire.
Images of the southerly Konarak naval base and the Bandar Abbas port facility, which is located on the strategic Hormuz Strait and houses the main command of the Iranian navy, show plumes of smoke rising from several ships on Monday and Tuesday.
Among the vessels destroyed was the Makran, Iran's most sizable ship which had served as a unmanned aerial vehicle platform. Aerial imagery showed black smoke emanating from the vessel which had been docked at the Bandar Abbas base.
Intelligence reports suggest that no fewer than a quintet of warships at the port were "struck or destroyed". Pictures of the south end of the harbor show smoke emanating from the IRINS Makran, while another pair of ships are visibly harmed, with one visibly ablaze.
Over at the Konarak base, photos display numerous damaged vessels, with intelligence reports pointing to impacts on six vessels. Images taken on Monday also demonstrate that multiple buildings at the base have been demolished.
"For decades the Tehran government has disrupted international shipping," a senior US military official stated. "Today, there is no vessel from Iran underway in the Persian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz or Sea of Oman, and we will not stop."
Some vessels reportedly sunk may have been obscured in aerial photos by haze or plumes, or targeted offshore, and have not been independently verified. Additional information stated that a ship from Iran was sinking off the coast of Sri Lanka's territorial waters, prompting a rescue operation.
The destruction of Iranian missile bases and the prevention of nuclear weapons development were listed as other goals of the offensive. Satellite images also showed impacts against the southern Khorgu base and northwestern Tabriz missile missile bases, and at the Konarak air base, where rocket warehouses and bunkers were struck.
At the Choqa Balk-e drone drone base west of Kermanshah, significant damage was identified to storage buildings, bunkers and UAV launching apparatus.
Impact was also observed at a radar site at the Zahedan military airport in eastern Iran, near the frontier with Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Of particular note, the new round of strikes have reportedly hit installations at Natanz – considered at the heart of Iran's nuclear programme. An international watchdog stated that the affected buildings were used for access to the facility's underground nuclear plant and that "no radiological consequence" was anticipated.
Military analysts stated that the offensive appeared to have "largely neutralized" the Iran's naval ability to conduct traditional warfare using its biggest vessels. Nevertheless, it was noted that Iran retains the option to launch irregular strikes at sea through the use of drones, mini-submarines and its so-called "shadow fleet" of oil ships.
The full scale of the destruction caused to Iranian military infrastructure remains unclear, with hostilities said to be persisting. Imagery also shows considerable destruction to the main offices of the the IRGC in the capital Tehran.
Numerous of public facilities also are reported to have been struck in the capital city and across the country since the fighting escalated. Toll estimates from local officials state that hundreds of non-combatants may have been killed in the strikes.
As the situation develops, monitoring of space-based data will carry on to track the unfolding battlefield picture.
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