More than 50 Iranian military bases damaged in US strikes since start of war, satellite images show

More than 50 Iranian military bases damaged in US strikes since start of war, satellite images show 29 minutes ago Share Save Add as preferred on Google Paul Brown , Merlyn Thomas and Matt Murphy , BBC Verify BBC More than 50 Iranian military bases, including the headquarters of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), have been damaged by US-Israeli attacks since the war began, satellite images show. Bases across the country have been heavily damaged by US strikes, the images reviewed by BBC Verify show, with experts identifying damage to air force jets, warships and ballistic missile facilities. US officials say they have hit more than 13,000 targets across Iran since the conflict began on 28 February. On Tuesday and Wednesday night, US and Iranian forces exchanged fresh waves of strikes following the downing of a US helicopter in the Gulf. Over the weekend, Iran and Israel also traded attacks , with Israel striking southern Beirut as well as military sites in the Islamic Republic. While a temporary ceasefire has been in place for more than a month, President Donald Trump claimed late last month that the US has "defeated them [Iran] militarily". "Their navy is totally gone - 100 per cent" he told his daughter-in-law and Fox News presenter, Lara Trump. "The air force is totally gone - 100 per cent." But despite the attacks seen to Iran's bases across the country, some of the images reviewed by BBC Verify appear to show that Tehran has been using the fragile ceasefire to conduct repairs to tunnel entrances at some key missile sites. Throughout the conflict it has been difficult to determine the scale of damage to Iranian military bases as the US has sought to limit satellite coverage of the region. The Pentagon asked Planet, a major provider, to restrict new images of Iran and most of the Middle East in March . The company justified the move, saying that it wanted to ensure its images were not used "by adversarial actors to target allied and Nato-partner personnel and civilians". However, BBC Verify used older Planet images and alternative international providers to record damage at 51 military sites across Iran, including air bases, naval facilities and IRGC compounds. The analysis is a likely only a partial assessment due to the secretive nature of many Iranian facilities. The private intelligence company Janes estimated that there are a total of 197 military and IRGC bases in Iran. Satellite images show that runways and aircraft have been hit at more than a dozen locations, which experts say has helped to give the US complete control over Iranian airspace. At Mehrabad International Airport strikes on 7 March destroyed at least 17 aircraft in the military section of the facility, while at Shiraz Airbase US-Israeli attacks between 2-17 April hit at least 13 planes. Strikes have also targeted Iran's fleet of warships. Multiple vessels and buildings were damaged during attacks on the Bandar Abbas Naval Base - the headquarters of the navy - i