🔗 Share this article

A series of American and Israeli strikes has allegedly eliminated or harmed at least 11 Iran's navy ships starting the weekend, recently obtained satellite images show, with launch facilities and enrichment plants also sustaining hits.

Images of the southern Konarak military port and the Bandar Abbas facility, which overlooks the Strait of Hormuz and is home to the main command of the Iran's naval force, reveal plumes of smoke rising from a number of ships on Monday and Tuesday.

Maritime Assets Incurred Substantial Losses

Included in the vessels destroyed was the IRINS Makran, the country's most sizable ship which had served as a unmanned aerial vehicle platform. Aerial imagery showed dark plumes pouring from the ship which had been docked at the Bandar Abbas naval base.

Analytical assessments indicate that no fewer than five ships at the port were "damaged or eliminated". Imagery of the south end of the harbor reveal plumes ascending from the IRINS Makran, while two other vessels seem to be harmed, with one clearly on fire.

At Konarak, images show several damaged ships, with analysis pointing to impacts on six ships. Images from the start of the week also indicate that multiple buildings at the base have been leveled.

"For a long time the Iran's leadership has disrupted international shipping," the head of US Central Command said. "Today, there is no Iranian ship underway in the Persian Gulf, Hormuz Strait or Sea of Oman, and we will not stop."

Some ships allegedly sunk may have been obscured in aerial photos by haze or plumes, or struck at sea, and have not been independently verified. Separate reports indicated that a ship from Iran was foundering off the coast of Sri Lankan territorial waters, prompting a rescue operation.

Missile Sites and Nuclear Facilities Targeted

Eliminating Iranian missile bases and the hindering of nuclear weapons development were listed as other objectives of the air campaign. Aerial imagery also showed strikes on the southern Khorgu and northwestern Tabriz missile facilities, and at the Konarak air base, where missile storage facilities and fortifications were hit.

Over at the Choqa Balk-e unmanned aircraft site to the west of Kermanshah, extensive destruction was observed to storage buildings, bunkers and unmanned aircraft systems.

Destruction was also seen at a radar installation at the Zahedan airbase military airport in eastern Iran, near the frontier with neighboring nations.

Significantly, the most recent series of strikes have reportedly focused on facilities at the Natanz complex – considered at the heart of the country's nuclear programme. The UN's atomic energy body commented that the damaged buildings were used for access to the facility's underground enrichment facility and that "no nuclear fallout" was anticipated.

Broader Impact and Assessment

Observers indicated that the attacks appeared to have "significantly degraded" the Iran's naval ability to conduct traditional warfare using its biggest warships. Nevertheless, it was stressed that Tehran maintains the option to launch asymmetric warfare at sea through the use of drones, midget subs and its so-called "shadow fleet" of tankers.

The total scope of the destruction caused to Iranian military facilities remains unclear, with hostilities said to be ongoing. Imagery also reveals extensive destruction to the command center of the the IRGC in the capital Tehran.

Numerous of civilian buildings also appear to have been damaged in the capital and across the country after the hostilities escalated. Casualty figures from local officials indicate that hundreds of non-combatants may have been fatally injured in the strikes.

As the situation develops, monitoring of aerial photographs will carry on to document the changing scope of damage.