🔗 Share this article

A series of joint strikes has allegedly destroyed or damaged no fewer than eleven warships belonging to Iran since Saturday, new orbital imagery reveal, with launch facilities and nuclear sites also being targeted.

Pictures of the southerly Konarak naval military port and the Bandar Abbas port installation, which overlooks the Strait of Hormuz and is home to the headquarters of the Iranian navy, reveal black smoke pouring from multiple ships on Monday and Tuesday.

Maritime Fleet Incurred Major Losses

Among the targets eliminated was the Makran, Iran's largest naval vessel which had served as a unmanned aerial vehicle platform. Satellite images displayed dark plumes emanating from the ship which had been docked at the Bandar Abbas base.

Analytical assessments indicate that no fewer than five ships at the port were "hit or sunk". Pictures of the southern end of the harbor reveal plumes ascending from the IRINS Makran, while additional ships are visibly harmed, with one of them clearly on fire.

At Konarak, images reveal multiple harmed ships, with expert review identifying damage to a half-dozen warships. Images taken on Monday also demonstrate that multiple structures at the installation have been demolished.

"For many years the Iran's leadership has threatened international shipping," the head of US Central Command said. "Today, there is not one Iranian vessel underway in the Arabian Gulf, Hormuz Strait or Gulf of Oman, and we will not stop."

A number of ships reportedly sunk may have been hidden in aerial photos by haze or plumes, or hit in open waters, and have not been conclusively proven. Separate reports stated that a ship from Iran was going down off the coast of Sri Lanka's territorial waters, leading to a search and rescue mission.

Rocket Sites and Atomic Facilities Attacked

Eliminating Iran's rocket sites and the hindering of enrichment activities were stated as further goals of the military strikes. Aerial imagery also showed impacts against the southerly Khorgu and northwestern Tabriz missile missile bases, and at the Konarak base, where missile storage facilities and bunkers were targeted.

At the Choqa Balk-e drone drone base west of Kermanshah, widespread destruction was observed to sheds, bunkers and unmanned aircraft systems.

Damage was also observed at a radar site at the Zahedan airbase airbase in eastern Iran, close to the border with Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Of particular note, the most recent series of strikes have apparently hit installations at the Natanz complex – considered at the center of the country's enrichment efforts. The UN's atomic energy body said that the affected structures were used for access to the site's below-ground enrichment facility and that "no release of radioactive material" was anticipated.

Broader Consequences and Assessment

Observers indicated that the offensive appeared to have "greatly reduced" the Iranian navy's capability to conduct conventional attacks using its most significant vessels. However, it was noted that Iran retains the option to launch unconventional attacks at sea through the use of drones, small submarines and its so-called "clandestine network" of oil ships.

The full extent of the destruction caused to Iranian military infrastructure has yet to be fully assessed, with attacks reportedly persisting. Imagery also shows considerable destruction to the headquarters of the Iran's Revolutionary Guards in the capital Tehran.

A large number of public facilities also are reported to have been struck in the capital and throughout the country after the conflict escalated. Casualty figures from local officials suggest that hundreds of non-combatants may have been fatally injured in the strikes.

As the situation develops, monitoring of space-based data will continue to document the changing military landscape.