🔗 Share this article

A wave of US and Israeli airstrikes has reportedly destroyed or damaged no fewer than eleven warships belonging to Iran since Saturday, new satellite images demonstrate, with missile bases and nuclear sites also being targeted.

Pictures of the southern Konarak naval military port and the Bandar Abbas facility, which is located on the strategic Hormuz Strait and is home to the headquarters of the Iranian navy, reveal black smoke pouring from several vessels on Monday and Tuesday.

Naval Forces Sustained Major Losses

Among the ships sunk was the IRINS Makran, the country's largest naval vessel which had functioned as a unmanned aerial vehicle platform. Orbital photos indicated thick smoke pouring from the ship which had been moored at the Bandar Abbas naval base.

Intelligence assessments state that no fewer than a quintet of warships at the port were "damaged or eliminated". Photos of the south end of the port depict plumes ascending from the IRINS Makran, while another pair of vessels are visibly damaged, with a single one seen burning.

Over at Konarak, photos display several harmed vessels, with expert review pointing to strikes against six ships. Photos from the start of the week also demonstrate that a number of facilities at the installation have been destroyed.

"For a long time the Iranian regime has disrupted international shipping," the head of US Central Command stated. "At present, there is no vessel from Iran underway in the Arabian Gulf, Hormuz Strait or Gulf of Oman, and we will not stop."

A number of vessels reportedly sunk may have been obscured in satellite images by weather conditions or battle damage, or hit in open waters, and have not been independently verified. Additional information suggested that one Iranian ship was going down near Sri Lanka's territorial waters, leading to a search and rescue mission.

Rocket Sites and Atomic Locations Attacked

The destruction of Iranian missile bases and the prevention of atomic bomb programs were listed as further goals of the air campaign. Aerial imagery also revealed damage at the southern Khorgu and north-western Tabriz missile missile bases, and at the Konarak base, where rocket warehouses and bunkers were struck.

Over at the Choqa Balk-e drone drone base west of the city of Kermanshah, extensive destruction was observed to sheds, bunkers and unmanned aircraft systems.

Destruction was also seen at a radar installation at the Zahedan airbase military airport in eastern parts of the country, close to the border with Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Perhaps most notably, the latest wave of strikes have apparently hit facilities at Natanz – widely believed to be at the heart of Iran's enrichment efforts. The UN's atomic energy body stated that the damaged buildings were used for entry to the facility's underground nuclear plant and that "no release of radioactive material" was anticipated.

Broader Consequences and Assessment

Defense experts indicated that the attacks appeared to have "significantly degraded" the Iranian navy's capacity to sustain traditional warfare using its largest vessels. However, it was emphasised that Iran still has the ability to launch asymmetric warfare at sea through the use of unmanned aerial vehicles, small submarines and its so-called "shadow fleet" of oil ships.

The full extent of the damage caused to Iran's defense infrastructure has yet to be fully assessed, with attacks reportedly persisting. Imagery also indicates widespread damage to the main offices of the Iran's Revolutionary Guards in the capital Tehran.

Numerous of civilian buildings also seem to have been struck in the capital city and across Iran since the hostilities escalated. Toll estimates from local officials suggest that a high number of non-combatants may have been fatally injured in the attacks.

As the situation develops, analysis of aerial photographs will continue to track the evolving battlefield picture.