Satellite images begin to show damage wrought by Iran war

Audio By Carbonatix

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Satellite images are beginning to be released giving a glimpse into the toll of the Iran war, with ships ablaze in an Iranian port and destroyed buildings at an American base.

Information has so far been scarce about the damage being done across the Middle East, particularly when it’s inside closed military facilities, since the start of the war on Feb. 28.

The images come from Planet Labs PBC, a San Francisco-based firm used by media outlets, including The Associated Press. Planet Labs has put a two-week delay on its imagery becoming public citing concerns its imagery could be used by “adversarial actors.”

High-resolution images also have been published by competing firms. Other providers, like the U.S. Geological Survey, have been publishing lower-resolution imagery as well that’s been useful.

The U.S. and Israel have been striking a wide variety of targets, including leadership figures, military bases, missile and air defense sites and positions of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard and its volunteer force, the Basij. Iran has responded with drone and missile fire targeting Israel and nearby Gulf Arab nations.

Here’s a look at what’s visible in a selection of Planet Labs’ pictures, as well as others.

Some of the most dramatic images from Planet Labs so far have been in Bandar Abbas, home to a major Iranian military port next to the crucial Strait of Hormuz connecting the Persian Gulf to the Arabian Sea.

Images taken on March 2 show ships ablaze at the port. The U.S. military’s Central Command has been targeting Iran’s naval assets and says it has sank or damaged more than 100 Iranian vessels so far in the war.

The island kingdom of Bahrain, home of the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet, has seen heavy Iranian fire targeting both military bases and oil installations. A March 1 image shot by Planet Labs shows a major building at the base destroyed, as well as two radomes — geodesic domes covering radar antennas — likely by Iranian missile and drone fire.

The Navy has not offered a clear breakdown in the damage done so far at the base, but Iran has repeatedly claimed it have attacked it. Online videos have also shown incoming fire targeting the base. During the 12-day war in June, Iran attacked and destroyed a similar radome at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar used for secure communications.

In Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, there’s damage seen at France's Camp de la Paix naval base. Satellite images from March 3 show damage to two large hangar-like buildings at the facility. The base is near Zayed Port, in Abu Dhabi, and close to its Cultural District that includes the Louvre Abu Dhabi and other major museums both open and still under construction.

The U.S. Geological Survey’s Landsat satellites also have been key in spotting major fires. Imagery from Landsat taken on Monday showed a fire at Dubai International Airport after an Iranian drone strike set a fuel tanker ablaze at the world’s busiest airport for international travel, causing a plume of noxious black smoke.

Another fire was also seen on Monday at Oman's southern port in Salalah, which came under attack from suspected Iranian drones on March 11, though Tehran has denied it launched them in its campaign targeting Gulf Arab states. The fire apparently has been burning since then.