🔗 Share this article

A wave of American and Israeli airstrikes has allegedly destroyed or damaged a minimum of eleven Iran's navy ships starting the weekend, recently obtained satellite images demonstrate, with missile bases and atomic facilities also sustaining hits.

Images of the southerly Konarak naval military port and the Bandar Abbas facility, which is located on the strategic Hormuz Strait and houses the headquarters of the Iranian navy, depict smoke billowing from several warships on Monday and Tuesday.

Naval Assets Incurred Significant Damage

Among the targets eliminated was the Makran, the country's largest naval vessel which had functioned as a drone carrier. Orbital photos indicated black smoke emanating from the ship which had been moored at the Bandar Abbas base.

Intelligence evaluations suggest that no fewer than five vessels at the port were "hit or sunk". Imagery of the south end of the port depict smoke emanating from the IRINS Makran, while another pair of vessels appear to be harmed, with one visibly ablaze.

Over at the Konarak base, photos display numerous harmed ships, with expert review identifying strikes against six vessels. Pictures taken on Monday also show that a number of buildings at the base have been leveled.

"For a long time the Tehran government has disrupted commercial vessels," an American commander stated. "Now, there is no vessel from Iran at sea in the Arabian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz or Gulf of Oman, and we will persist."

Some vessels allegedly sunk may have been hidden in satellite images by weather conditions or battle damage, or struck at sea, and have not been independently verified. Separate reports suggested that a ship from Iran was foundering near Sri Lankan territorial waters, leading to a search and rescue mission.

Rocket Bases and Atomic Facilities Attacked

The destruction of Iranian missile bases and the stopping atomic bomb programs were listed as additional aims of the air campaign. Satellite images also showed damage at the southern Khorgu and north-western Tabriz missile facilities, and at the Konarak base, where weapons bunkers and bunkers were hit.

Over at the Choqa Balk-e drone UAV facility to the west of Kermanshah, significant damage was seen to warehouses, bunkers and UAV launching apparatus.

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

Perhaps most notably, the latest wave of attacks have reportedly hit sites at Natanz – considered at the center of the country's nuclear programme. An international watchdog said that the affected buildings were used for entry to the facility's below-ground enrichment facility and that "no nuclear fallout" was expected.

Broader Impact and Assessment

Observers indicated that the strikes appeared to have "significantly degraded" the Iranian navy's capability to carry out standard operations using its largest vessels. But, it was stressed that Tehran retains the option to launch irregular strikes at sea through the use of unmanned aerial vehicles, mini-submarines and its so-called "ghost fleet" of oil ships.

The overall scale of the destruction caused to Iran's defense facilities has yet to be fully assessed, with strikes reportedly continuing. Photos also shows widespread damage to the main offices of the the IRGC in the capital Tehran.

A large number of public facilities also seem to have been struck in the capital city and across the country after the hostilities began. Reports of deaths from local officials state that many hundreds of civilians may have been fatally injured in the attacks.

As the situation develops, analysis of aerial photographs will continue to assess the unfolding battlefield picture.