Space-Based Pictures Show Iran's Navy and Nuclear Facilities Hit by Joint US and Israeli Strikes.

Multiple US and Israeli attacks has reportedly destroyed or damaged at least eleven Iran's navy ships starting the weekend, freshly analyzed satellite images reveal, with rocket sites and atomic facilities also coming under fire.

Photographs of the southern Konarak naval naval base and the Bandar Abbas port installation, which sits on the strategic Hormuz Strait and is home to the main command of the Iranian navy, depict smoke billowing from a number of ships on recent days.

Naval Assets Sustained Major Damage

Included in the vessels destroyed was the IRINS Makran, Iran's largest naval vessel which had functioned as a drone carrier. Satellite images showed dark plumes pouring from the ship which had been stationed at the Bandar Abbas base.

Intelligence evaluations suggest that no fewer than a quintet of warships at the port were "damaged or eliminated". Photos of the southern end of the harbor depict smoke rising from the Makran, while another pair of ships appear to be harmed, with one of them seen burning.

Over at Konarak, images show numerous damaged vessels, with analysis identifying strikes against a half-dozen warships. Images from the start of the week also show that several facilities at the base have been demolished.

"For decades the Iran's leadership has harassed global maritime traffic," a senior US military official stated. "Today, there is no Iranian ship at sea in the Persian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz or Gulf of Oman, and we will persist."

Some vessels allegedly sunk may have been concealed in satellite images by cloud or smoke, or hit in open waters, and have not been independently verified. Additional information stated that an Iranian vessel was sinking off the coast of Sri Lanka's waters, resulting in a search and rescue mission.

Rocket Bases and Nuclear Locations Targeted

Eliminating Iran's rocket sites and the hindering of enrichment activities were declared as further aims of the offensive. Satellite images also revealed impacts against the southern Khorgu and north-western Tabriz missile facilities, and at the Konarak air base, where rocket warehouses and bunkers were hit.

Over at the Choqa Balk-e drone UAV facility to the west of Kermanshah, widespread damage was identified to warehouses, bunkers and drone launch equipment.

Impact was also noted at a radar installation at the Zahedan military airport in eastern parts of the country, close to the frontier with Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Significantly, the new round of attacks have reportedly focused on sites at Natanz – long said to be at the center of the country's atomic program. The UN's atomic energy body stated that the damaged structures were used for access to the facility's below-ground enrichment facility and that "no nuclear fallout" was expected.

Wider Fallout and Assessment

Observers stated that the attacks appeared to have "greatly reduced" the Iranian navy's ability to carry out standard operations using its most significant warships. However, it was noted that Iran retains the capacity to launch unconventional attacks at sea through the use of drones, mini-submarines and its so-called "clandestine network" of oil ships.

The full extent of the damage caused to Iran's defense facilities has yet to be fully assessed, with strikes said to be continuing. Pictures also reveals extensive damage to the headquarters of the the IRGC in the city of Tehran.

A large number of public facilities also are reported to have been hit in the capital city and throughout Iran after the fighting began. Casualty figures from ground sources suggest that a high number of non-combatants may have been fatally injured in the strikes.

As the situation develops, analysis of satellite imagery will persist to track the evolving scope of damage.

Yesenia Brandt
Yesenia Brandt

A passionate architect and sustainability advocate with over a decade of experience in green building design and eco-conscious construction practices.