Satellite Images Depict Iran's Navy and Nuclear Facilities Damaged by US-Israeli Airstrikes.

Multiple US and Israeli attacks has reportedly eliminated or harmed at least 11 warships belonging to Iran starting the weekend, new aerial photos show, with launch facilities and atomic facilities also coming under fire.

Pictures of the southerly Konarak naval naval base and the Bandar Abbas facility, which sits on the strategic Hormuz Strait and houses the headquarters of the Iran's naval force, show black smoke pouring from a number of ships on recent days.

Maritime Forces Sustained Substantial Damage

Among the ships sunk was the Makran, the country's most sizable ship which had been used as a drone carrier. Orbital photos indicated dark plumes emanating from the ship which had been moored at the Bandar Abbas naval base.

Intelligence reports state that no fewer than five vessels at Bandar Abbas were "hit or sunk". Pictures of the southern part of the port reveal smoke rising from the IRINS Makran, while additional vessels seem to be impacted, with one of them clearly on fire.

Over at Konarak, photos reveal numerous harmed ships, with analysis pointing to damage to six vessels. Pictures from Monday also show that a number of facilities at the base have been destroyed.

"For many years the Tehran government has harassed international shipping," a senior US military official said. "Today, there is no Iranian vessel operational in the Arabian Gulf, Hormuz Strait or Gulf of Oman, and we will not stop."

A number of vessels reportedly sunk may have been concealed in satellite images by cloud or smoke, or hit in open waters, and have not been conclusively proven. Separate reports stated that an Iranian vessel was going down off the coast of Sri Lanka's waters, resulting in a rescue operation.

Rocket Bases and Nuclear Locations Targeted

Neutralizing Tehran's launch facilities and the hindering of atomic bomb programs were stated as other aims of the military strikes. Satellite images also showed impacts against the southern Khorgu and north-western Tabriz missile missile bases, and at the Konarak air base, where missile storage facilities and fortifications were hit.

Over at the Choqa Balk-e UAV facility west of Kermanshah, significant damage was identified to storage buildings, underground facilities and unmanned aircraft systems.

Damage was also observed at a radar installation at the Zahedan airbase military airport in eastern Iran, near the border with Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Perhaps most notably, the latest wave of strikes have apparently focused on sites at Natanz – widely believed to be at the core of the country's atomic program. An international watchdog stated that the affected structures were used for access to the site's underground enrichment facility and that "no radiological consequence" was anticipated.

Broader Fallout and Analysis

Defense experts indicated that the attacks appeared to have "largely neutralized" the Iran's naval capacity to sustain standard operations using its most significant vessels. But, it was stressed that Tehran maintains the ability to launch unconventional attacks at sea through the use of drones, mini-submarines and its so-called "clandestine network" of tankers.

The overall scope of the destruction caused to Iran's defense facilities has yet to be fully assessed, with attacks said to be ongoing. Pictures also shows considerable damage to the headquarters of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in the capital Tehran.

A significant number of public facilities also are reported to have been struck in the capital and across the country after the fighting started. Casualty figures from ground sources indicate that a high number of non-combatants may have been fatally injured in the strikes.

As the situation develops, review of aerial photographs will continue to assess the unfolding military landscape.

Ryan Booth
Ryan Booth

A passionate photographer and educator dedicated to sharing innovative techniques and inspiring others through visual arts.