The US has warned of more attacks on Iran after launching an operation that killed its supreme leader.
With no end in sight to the hostilities, Sky News has mapped the attacks on both sides – and the military assets at play in the region.
Regional conflict
The US launched Operation Epic Fury with a series of strikes on Saturday morning, killing Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in his Tehran compound.
Israel joined the attack, killing dozens of top Iranian military officials in airstrikes.
Iran retaliated by launching drones and missiles targeting Israel, UAE, Bahrain, Jordan, Oman and Qatar.
Three American service members were killed in a strike in Kuwait, while an RAF base in Cyprus He was also targeted in drone attacks.
How far can Iran hit?
Iran’s drone attack on RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus was a demonstration of its capabilities.
Its longest-range missile, the Sajjil, has a maximum range of up to 2,000km (1,240 miles), according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies, a defense thinktank.
That’s far enough to hit Moscow or Athens, though still short of giving Iran the ability to hit the UK.
The UK base in Cyprus is within range of not only the Sajjil but also Iran’s Ghadar and Emad-1 missiles.
Fighter jets and airfields
Both the US and the UK have air bases in the Middle East and Europe that could be used to attack Iran.
In the past few weeks, US and RAF aircraft have flown to and from the Middle East, with a significant build-up at the bases.
Aircraft such as F22 fighter jets, C-17 military transport aircraft and KC-135 tankers are among the US deployed assets.
Diego Garcia is one of the airports that has seen an increase in activity.
The site has been in the headlines in recent months, with Donald Trump criticizing UK plans to cede control of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.
The Iran conflict has highlighted the strategic importance of the joint US-UK military base, which Sir Keir Stormer refused permission for the US to use to launch attacks on Tehran.
Satellite imagery captured over the base on Sunday morning showed at least 14 aircraft parked alongside the runway, including six F-16 fighter jets and two P-8 Poseidon maritime reconnaissance aircraft.
The rest are transport aircraft, including a C-5 Galaxy and three KC-135 Stratotankers, Jane’s Defense Weekly analysts told Sky News.
The C-5 is the largest transport aircraft in the US arsenal, capable of carrying military vehicles and fighter jets.
Flight tracking data shows the C-5 belongs to the US military and arrived from South Korea on Saturday. A KC-135 Stratotanker was also seen en route to the base that same day.
As of Monday afternoon, flight tracking data showed a second US military C-5 was on its way from the joint US-South Korea Osan Air Base to Diego Garcia.
Analysts at Jane’s Defense Weekly told Sky News that, apart from the P-8 Poseidon, the UK does not operate any aircraft models visible in satellite imagery.
Naval assets
At least three US military ships are reportedly in the Persian Gulf and 12 in the Middle East and Mediterranean.
The aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln was also spotted on February 25 under 200km (124 miles) off the coast of Iran.
Lincoln is one of the largest military ships in the world and can carry a wide variety of aircraft, including F-35 Lightning II fighter jets.
A nuclear-powered carrier was seen in satellite imagery off the coast of Oman.
Image: EU Sentinel, Copernicus
It consisted of an unidentified vessel measuring 200 meters and presumably used for replenishment or drills.
The USS Gerald R Ford, the US Navy’s largest aircraft carrier, was last seen in satellite imagery on February 27 in the Mediterranean Sea, less than 400km (248 miles) off the coast of Cyprus.
It was reportedly traveling with three US destroyers, capable of carrying a total of 6,000 personnel.
Sky News tracked six Iranian vessels using data from TankerTrackers, which are located on Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz.
He was last seen in satellite imagery on February 28.
These ships have been in the area for more than two weeks. Among these is Iran’s first drone-carrying warship, the Iris Shahid Bagheri of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Around 60 drones can be deployed in addition to the ship’s helicopters, which are frequently seen in the Strait of Hormuz.
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Maps created by data journalist Alija Hagopian, digital investigations journalist Ben van der Merwe, junior OSINT producer Freya Gibson, OSINT producer Lydia Morrish and junior digital investigations journalist Sophia Massam. Copy editing and production by Associate Editor Adam Parris-Long
The Data x Forensics The team is a multi-skilled unit dedicated to providing transparent journalism from Sky News. We collect, analyze and visualize data to tell data-driven stories. We combine traditional reporting skills with advanced analysis of satellite images, social media and other open source data. Through multimedia storytelling we aim to better explain the world while showing how our journalism is done
