🔗 Share this article

A series of US and Israeli attacks has reportedly destroyed or damaged no fewer than 11 Iran's navy ships since the weekend, freshly analyzed satellite images show, with rocket sites and nuclear sites also sustaining hits.

Pictures of the southerly Konarak naval base and the Bandar Abbas port facility, which sits on the Strait of Hormuz and houses the headquarters of the Iran's naval force, reveal plumes of smoke rising from several warships on Monday and Tuesday.

Maritime Fleet Incurred Substantial Losses

Included in the ships sunk was the IRINS Makran, the country's biggest warship which had been used as a drone carrier. Aerial imagery displayed black smoke rising from the ship which had been docked at the Bandar Abbas base.

Analytical evaluations indicate that at least five vessels at the port were "damaged or eliminated". Pictures of the southern part of the harbor reveal smoke rising from the IRINS Makran, while additional ships seem to be damaged, with one clearly on fire.

Over at Konarak, images show several harmed vessels, with intelligence reports identifying strikes against six vessels. Pictures from Monday also indicate that a number of facilities at the installation have been leveled.

"For a long time the Tehran government has harassed international shipping," the head of US Central Command declared. "Today, there is not one Iranian vessel operational in the Persian Gulf, Hormuz Strait or Gulf of Oman, and we will persist."

Some ships allegedly destroyed may have been hidden in aerial photos by cloud or smoke, or hit in open waters, and have yet to be fully confirmed. Other accounts stated that one Iranian ship was going down near Sri Lanka's territorial waters, resulting in a rescue operation.

Rocket Bases and Atomic Facilities Attacked

Eliminating Iranian missile bases and the stopping enrichment activities were stated as additional goals of the offensive. Aerial imagery also depicted damage at the southerly Khorgu and northwestern Tabriz missile facilities, and at the Konarak air air base, where rocket warehouses and fortifications were struck.

At the Choqa Balk-e drone unmanned aircraft site to the west of Kermanshah, significant destruction was observed to sheds, bunkers and drone launch equipment.

Destruction was also noted at a surveillance station at the Zahedan airbase military airport in eastern parts of the country, near the frontier with neighboring nations.

Significantly, the most recent series of attacks have reportedly focused on sites at the Natanz complex – widely believed to be at the center of the country's nuclear programme. A global monitoring agency stated that the damaged buildings were used for access to the facility's below-ground enrichment facility and that "no radiological consequence" was expected.

Wider Fallout and Analysis

Military analysts stated that the offensive appeared to have "greatly reduced" the Iranian navy's ability to sustain conventional attacks using its biggest warships. However, it was noted that Iran still has the capacity to launch asymmetric warfare at sea through the use of drones, midget subs and its so-called "clandestine network" of tankers.

The total scope of the damage caused to Iranian military infrastructure has yet to be fully assessed, with hostilities reportedly persisting. Imagery also shows extensive destruction to the main offices of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in the city of Tehran.

A large number of civilian buildings also seem to have been struck in the capital and across Iran since the fighting began. Toll estimates from inside Iran indicate that a high number of civilians may have been fatally injured in the attacks.

With the conflict ongoing, review of aerial photographs will persist to track the evolving battlefield picture.