Satellite images are beginning to be released giving glimpses of the war in Iran, with ships burning in an Iranian port and destroying buildings on American soil.
Information has been scarce so far about the damage being done across the Middle East, especially inside closed military facilities, since the war began on February 28.
These images come from Planet Labs PBC, a San Francisco-based firm used by media outlets, including the Associated Press. Planet Labs put a two-week delay on its images from being made public citing concerns that its images could be used by “dissident actors.”
High resolution images are also published by competing firms. Other providers, such as the US Geological Survey, have been publishing low-resolution images that have been useful.
The US and Israel have been attacking a 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 responded with drone and missile fire targeting Israel and neighboring Gulf Arab nations.
Here’s a look at what’s visible in a selection of Planet Labs images, as well as others.
Burning ships in Bandar Abbas, Iran
Some of the best images from Planet Labs so far are at Bandar Abbas, home to Iran’s largest military port near the vital Strait of Hormuz that connects the Persian Gulf to the Arabian Sea.
Pictures taken on March 2 show ships on fire in the harbor. The US military’s Central Command has been monitoring Iranian military assets and says it has sunk or destroyed more than 100 Iranian ships so far in the war.
Major impact on 5th Fleet headquarters in Bahrain
The island kingdom of Bahrain, home to the US Navy’s 5th Fleet, has seen heavy Iranian fire targeting military bases and oil installations. A March 1 photo taken by Planet Labs shows a large structure on the destroyed base, as well as two radomes — geodesic domes that cover radar antennas — that may have been fired by Iranian missiles and drone fire.
The Navy has not provided a clear breakdown of the damage done so far at the base, but Iran has consistently claimed it was attacked.
Online videos also showed 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.
Satellite images show damage to UAE air base
Satellite images, taken on March 15 by the Airbus Defense and Space Pléiades Neo satellite and analyzed by the Associated Press, show the damage at Al Dhafra Air Base in Abu Dhabi. Damage can be seen in one set of hangars northwest of the facility.
Another hangar southeast of the facility appears to have been gutted by fire, with an adjacent hangar sustaining roof damage. It is unclear what was in the hangars.
Al Dhafra regularly hosts up to 2,000 US troops and has served as a major base for operations for everything from armed drones to F-35 stealth fighters in recent years.
The US military for years referred to Al Dhafra as a base in “southwest Asia” before the UAE was more willing to acknowledge the American presence there.
French military base in Abu Dhabi
In Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, damage was seen at the French military base Camp de la Paix. Satellite images from March 3 show damage to two large hangar-like structures at the facility. The site is close to Zayed Port, Abu Dhabi, and close to its Cultural District which includes the Louvre Abu Dhabi and other major museums that have opened and are under construction.
The fires that were seen burning
The US Geological Survey’s Landsat satellites have also been key in spotting large fires. A Landsat image taken on Monday showed a fire at Dubai International Airport after an Iranian military strike set a fuel tank on fire at the world’s busiest international airport, causing a plume of black smoke.
Another fire was seen on Monday in Oman’s southern port of Salalah, which was attacked by suspected Iranian jets on March 11, although Tehran denied launching it in its campaign against Gulf Arab states. The fire has apparently been burning ever since.
