@bellingcat.com
Bellingcat is an independent investigative collective of researchers, investigators and citizen journalists brought together by a passion for open source research. Want to support our charity? bellingcat.com/donate
Here's what Bellingcat has been up to this week:
Bellingcat analysed imagery and reporting from the first days of the conflict with Iran to identify US, Israeli and Iranian munitions now being deployed.
www.bellingcat.com/news/2026/03...
Cuba has recently faced more major blackouts as its economic crisis deepens. The government blames decades of sanctions and new US actions that halt oil shipments from Venezuela, leaving the country with fuel shortages and a fragile power grid. www.reuters.com/business/ene...
Satellite images from NASA Worldview on March 5 reveal the extent of the blackout in Cuba. A failure at the most important power plant, combined with the US blockade on fuel shipments in the country has left nearly 70% of the island's inhabitants without power.
You can recreate a similar visualisation of the explosion using the tool RAMMB SLIDER, it shows the high resolution Band 9 (3.80 µm) in the mid-infrared band. Find a review of the tool by Bellingcat’s Data Scientist Logan Williams here: bellingcat.gitbook.io/toolkit/more...
The Libyan Ports and Maritime Transport Authority's Facebook page posted details of the vessel’s last known coordinates which match with where the explosion can be seen www.facebook.com/share/p/1851...
A primary explosion was captured at 02:40 UTC, while a second explosion can be seen around 03:40 UTC.
A March 3 explosion at the location of the now sunken Russian LNG tanker Arctic MetaGaz in the Mediterranean Sea was captured in mid-infrared optical imagery from the geostationary Meteosat-12 satellite. Visualisation: @simonsat.bsky.social/ESA. Data: EUMETSAT
Creating tools like this is dependent on the kind support of individual donors. Bellingcat is a not-for-profit. Consider donating so we can continue to create impact in 2026. www.bellingcat.com/donate
In this video Bellingcat’s Technology Officer and creator of the tool @obtusatum.bsky.social walks you through how to use Turnstone: youtu.be/DYbXbi8CRYw
Popular flight-tracking websites such as Flightradar24 and ADS-B Exchange do offer historical data for a particular time or aircraft. But for deeper analysis Turnstone aggregates ADS-B data for multiple aircraft over time, and allows users to search for flights across two areas of interest at once.
This tool primarily uses Automatic Dependent Surveillance–Broadcast (ADS-B) data, the technology that enables open source investigators and enthusiasts to track flights. The resource is open source and the source code for the tool can be found on Bellingcat’s GitHub. github.com/bellingcat/a...
With Turnstone, it is possible to interrogate the baseline level of movement and spot unusual patterns. For example, flight data before both the June 2025 and February 2026 strikes showed a uniquely large number of American aerial tankers leaving the US and crossing the Atlantic towards Iran.
Trying to make sense of an aircraft’s movements during a conflict? Context is everything. That’s why we built Turnstone, an open source tool that searches historical flight data to allow researchers to explore flight patterns over time and in specific locations. www.bellingcat.com/resources/20...
We want to uncover wrongdoing. We can with your support. Bellingcat is a not-for-profit. Consider donating so we can continue to create impact in 2026. www.bellingcat.com/donate
Find the full analysis of damage related to Police infrastructure here: www.bellingcat.com/news/middle-...
During protests earlier this year, thousands were reported killed by state security forces. Amnesty International said that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Basij militia, police and other plain-clothes agents carried out the deadliest violence in decades. www.amnesty.org.au/what-happene...
PlanetScope imagery from March 1 shows the area around the police station intact.
PlanetScope imagery from March 3 shows heavy damage to the area around the police station.
One station near Tehran’s Grand Bazaar can be seen heavily damaged in video and on satellite imagery. The adjacent Golestan Palace, a UNESCO World Heritage Site appears to have also sustained damage. x.com/zarGEOINT/st...
The New York Times previously spoke to experts who said that strikes against state security facilities may be part of an effort to motivate Iranians to challenge the regime. www.nytimes.com/2026/03/03/w...
A satellite imagery analysis conducted by Bellingcat shows that at least 15 police stations or police-related buildings were targeted in strikes conducted in Tehran between March 1 and March 3. www.bellingcat.com/news/middle-...
Bellingcat researcher @easybakeovensz.bsky.social provides a comprehensive overview of munitions seen in imagery from the war so far at : www.bellingcat.com/news/2026/03...
A Feb. 28. post shows an Iranian ballistic missile booster that fell on Al-Hashmi St. in Irbid, Jordan
Many missiles have a booster, a rocket motor that detaches from the missile after it is expended. These boosters fall to the ground under the flight path of the missile. Iranian missile boosters have reportedly fallen in several countries caught in the crossfire, including Syria and Jordan.
Iran has retaliated to US-Israel attacks by firing one-way attack drones, including Shahed variants, and missiles at Israel, and US bases in various countries across the region. Iranian Shahed drones have hit civilian buildings, as well as US military bases. bsky.app/profile/spec...
Israel also produces some of their own munitions, which they released video or photos of, including MK-83 1,000-pound bombs equipped with Israeli SPICE-1000 bomb guidance kits and RAMPAGE missiles.
Released in images from the first 24 hours of the war, was also a photo showing the first combat use of the Precision Strike Missile. www.twz.com/land/america...
Feb. 27. AGM-154C JSOW bombs being loaded onto aircraft. Source: US Navy/DVIDS
The DOD has also released several photos showing the C variants of the AGM-154 Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW). As documented by @munitionsportal.bsky.social this weapon has also been used by the US recently in Yemen and Venezuela.
Left: Feb. 27. 500-pound bombs equipped with JDAM guidance kits. Right: Feb. 28. 2,000-pound BLU-109 ‘bunker busters’ equipped with JDAM guidance kits. Sources: US Navy/DVIDS and US NAVY/DVIDS.
Photos published by the Department of Defence show weapons being prepared for loading on aircraft, including the MK-80 series of bombs and BLU-109 2,000-pound ‘bunker busters’ equipped with Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) bomb guidance kits. This weaponry is also supplied to Israel by the US.
Tomahawk cruise missiles played a key part in the early attack on Iran. Imagery appeared online of the missiles being launched from US Navy destroyers on Sunday morning: x.com/Osinttechnic...
Israel used 2,000+ bombs in the first 30 hours of the Iran war; the US struck 1,000+ targets in the first 24 hours. Iran responded with at least 390 missiles and 830 drones in the first two days. Bellingcat has tracked the munitions used by all sides so far: www.bellingcat.com/news/2026/03...
Planet SkySat imagery today shows smoke rising from Shahid Bahonar port in Iran and a vessel on fire. The vessel alight has a visible launch pad similar to Kordestan and Makran in the analysis below and matches features seen in Google Earth imagery of Makran in Jan. 2024 . bsky.app/profile/cove...
Our work monitoring the ongoing strikes in Iran and across the Middle East continues. You can join our community in sifting through the many claims online in our Discord Server here: discord.com/channels/709...
