🔗 Share this article

A wave of US and Israeli airstrikes has reportedly eliminated or harmed at least eleven Iran's navy ships starting the weekend, freshly analyzed aerial photos reveal, with missile bases and nuclear sites also being targeted.

Pictures of the southern Konarak military port and the Bandar Abbas port installation, which sits on the Strait of Hormuz and contains the main command of the Iran's naval force, reveal plumes of smoke rising from multiple warships on Monday and Tuesday.

Naval Forces Incurred Major Losses

Included in the targets eliminated was the IRINS Makran, the country's biggest warship which had been used as a unmanned aerial vehicle platform. Orbital photos showed thick smoke rising from the ship which had been docked at the Bandar Abbas naval base.

Analytical reports indicate that at least a quintet of warships at Bandar Abbas were "hit or sunk". Imagery of the southern part of the harbor depict smoke emanating from the IRINS Makran, while additional vessels are visibly harmed, with a single one seen burning.

At the Konarak base, photos display several stricken vessels, with analysis identifying impacts on six vessels. Pictures from Monday also demonstrate that several structures at the installation have been destroyed.

"For a long time the Tehran government has disrupted global maritime traffic," a senior US military official said. "Now, there is no Iranian vessel operational in the Persian Gulf, Hormuz Strait or Gulf of Oman, and we will persist."

A number of ships allegedly destroyed may have been concealed in satellite images by weather conditions or battle damage, or struck at sea, and have yet to be fully confirmed. Additional information stated that a ship from Iran was going down off the coast of Sri Lankan territorial waters, leading to a search and rescue mission.

Rocket Installations and Atomic Locations Attacked

The destruction of Iranian missile bases and the prevention of enrichment activities were stated as other aims of the offensive. Satellite images also revealed impacts against the southern Khorgu and north-western Tabriz missile missile bases, and at the Konarak air air base, where missile storage facilities and fortifications were hit.

At the Choqa Balk-e drone drone base to the west of the city of Kermanshah, extensive destruction was seen to warehouses, underground facilities and drone launch equipment.

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

Perhaps most notably, the most recent series of attacks have reportedly focused on facilities at Natanz – long said to be at the heart of the country's atomic program. An international watchdog said that the damaged structures were used for entry to the facility's underground enrichment facility and that "no radiological consequence" was anticipated.

Wider Fallout and Analysis

Military analysts indicated that the offensive appeared to have "greatly reduced" the Iranian navy's capacity to conduct traditional warfare using its most significant vessels. Nevertheless, it was stressed that Iran still has the ability to launch asymmetric warfare at sea through the use of drones, mini-submarines and its so-called "clandestine network" of oil ships.

The overall scale of the damage caused to Iran's defense infrastructure has yet to be fully assessed, with strikes said to be persisting. Imagery also indicates widespread destruction to the headquarters of the the IRGC in the city of Tehran.

A large number of civilian buildings also appear to have been hit in the capital and throughout Iran since the fighting began. Casualty figures from local officials indicate that hundreds of civilians may have been lost their lives in the attacks.

As the situation develops, review of satellite imagery will continue to track the changing military landscape.