🔗 Share this article

A wave of US and Israeli attacks has according to analysis destroyed or damaged a minimum of eleven warships belonging to Iran since Saturday, freshly analyzed satellite images reveal, with missile bases and nuclear sites also being targeted.

Pictures of the southerly Konarak military port and the Bandar Abbas port facility, which is located on the strategic Hormuz Strait and is home to the main command of the Iranian navy, show plumes of smoke rising from several vessels on the start of the week.

Maritime Assets Incurred Major Losses

Included in the vessels destroyed was the Makran, the country's biggest warship which had been used as a drone carrier. Aerial imagery indicated black smoke pouring from the ship which had been moored at the Bandar Abbas base.

Intelligence assessments indicate that no fewer than five ships at the port were "hit or sunk". Photos of the south end of the port reveal smoke emanating from the IRINS Makran, while another pair of vessels seem to be impacted, with one of them clearly on fire.

At the Konarak base, photos display multiple damaged vessels, with expert review identifying damage to a half-dozen warships. Images taken on Monday also indicate that multiple buildings at the installation have been destroyed.

"For a long time the Iran's leadership has disrupted international shipping," a senior US military official said. "Now, there is no Iranian vessel at sea in the Arabian Gulf, Hormuz Strait or Gulf of Oman, and we will not stop."

Some ships allegedly destroyed may have been obscured in aerial photos by weather conditions or battle damage, or struck at sea, and have yet to be fully confirmed. Additional information indicated that one Iranian ship was sinking near Sri Lanka's territorial waters, prompting a rescue operation.

Missile Bases and Nuclear Facilities Targeted

Neutralizing Tehran's launch facilities and the hindering of atomic bomb programs were declared as further aims of the offensive. Aerial imagery also showed damage at the southerly Khorgu base and north-western Tabriz missile facilities, and at the Konarak air air base, where rocket warehouses and fortifications were hit.

At the Choqa Balk-e drone unmanned aircraft site west of the city of Kermanshah, extensive destruction was identified to storage buildings, underground facilities and unmanned aircraft systems.

Destruction was also seen at a radar site at the Zahedan airbase military airport in eastern parts of the country, near the frontier with Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Perhaps most notably, the new round of strikes have apparently targeted facilities at Natanz – widely believed to be at the center of the country's atomic program. An international watchdog commented that the affected buildings were used for entry to the facility's below-ground enrichment facility and that "no nuclear fallout" was expected.

Broader Consequences and Analysis

Observers stated that the strikes appeared to have "greatly reduced" the Iran's naval ability to conduct traditional warfare using its biggest vessels. Nevertheless, it was noted that Iran maintains the option to launch irregular strikes at sea through the use of drones, small submarines and its so-called "shadow fleet" of oil ships.

The full extent of the destruction caused to Iranian military facilities is still uncertain, with strikes reportedly persisting. Photos also indicates considerable destruction to the main offices of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in the city of Tehran.

A significant number of civilian buildings also appear to have been hit in the capital and throughout the country after the conflict escalated. Reports of deaths from inside Iran suggest that a high number of non-combatants may have been lost their lives in the attacks.

Amid continuing hostilities, analysis of satellite imagery will continue to assess the evolving military landscape.