Satellite images reveal damage of the widening Middle East war

2026.03.18 06:20 A burning ship after a US military attack on a port in Bandar Abbas, Iran on March 2. Photo: Planet Labs PBC via 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 February 28. The images come from Planet Labs PBC, a San Francisco-based firm used by media outlets, including 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 have also been published by competing firms. Other providers, like the US Geological Survey, have been publishing lower-resolution imagery as well that has been useful. The US and Israel have been striking a wide variety of targets, including leadership figures, military bases, missile and air defence 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. Smoke billowing following an explosion at the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas on March 2. Photo: Planet Labs PBC via AFP 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 US military’s Central Command has been targeting Iran’s naval assets and says it has sunk or damaged more than 100 Iranian vessels so far in the war. Damage at the US 5th Fleet naval base in Bahrain’s capital Manama. Photo: Planet Labs PBC via AFP The island kingdom of Bahrain, home of the US Navy’s 5th Fleet, has seen heavy Iranian fire targeting

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