🔗 Share this article

Multiple US and Israeli strikes has allegedly eliminated or harmed at least eleven warships belonging to Iran since Saturday, recently obtained satellite images demonstrate, with rocket sites and nuclear sites also sustaining hits.

Pictures of the southern Konarak military port and the Bandar Abbas port facility, which is located on the strategic Hormuz Strait and houses the main command of the Iran's naval force, depict plumes of smoke rising from a number of ships on recent days.

Maritime Fleet Incurred Major Damage

Included in the vessels destroyed was the Makran, Iran's most sizable ship which had been used as a unmanned aerial vehicle platform. Aerial imagery showed thick smoke rising from the vessel which had been docked at the Bandar Abbas base.

Analytical assessments state that at least five ships at Bandar Abbas were "struck or destroyed". Imagery of the south end of the port depict smoke rising from the IRINS Makran, while additional ships appear to be impacted, with one of them visibly ablaze.

Over at Konarak, images reveal several stricken vessels, with intelligence reports identifying damage to six ships. Images from Monday also demonstrate that multiple structures at the base have been demolished.

"For many years the Tehran government has threatened global maritime traffic," a senior US military official stated. "Today, there is not one Iranian vessel underway in the Arabian Gulf, Hormuz Strait or Gulf of Oman, and we will continue."

A number of ships reportedly 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. Other accounts suggested that one Iranian ship was sinking near Sri Lankan territorial waters, resulting in a rescue operation.

Missile Sites and Nuclear Locations Attacked

Neutralizing Tehran's launch facilities and the hindering of enrichment activities were declared as other goals of the air campaign. Satellite images also depicted strikes on the southern Khorgu and northwestern Tabriz facilities, and at the Konarak air air base, where rocket warehouses and bunkers were hit.

At the Choqa Balk-e unmanned aircraft site west of the city of Kermanshah, extensive damage was observed to sheds, underground facilities and drone launch equipment.

Damage was also seen at a radar site at the Zahedan military airport in eastern Iran, near the border with Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Perhaps most notably, the new round of attacks have reportedly targeted sites at the Natanz complex – considered at the center of the country's nuclear programme. A global monitoring agency stated that the affected buildings were used for access to the facility's below-ground nuclear plant and that "no nuclear fallout" was expected.

Wider Consequences and Analysis

Observers suggested that the offensive appeared to have "greatly reduced" the Iranian navy's ability to sustain traditional warfare using its most significant warships. Nevertheless, it was noted that Tehran maintains the ability to launch irregular strikes at sea through the use of unmanned aerial vehicles, small submarines and its so-called "ghost fleet" of oil ships.

The total scope of the damage caused to Iranian military infrastructure has yet to be fully assessed, with strikes reportedly ongoing. Imagery also reveals extensive damage to the main offices of the Iran's Revolutionary Guards in the city of Tehran.

Numerous of non-military structures also are reported to have been hit in the capital and throughout the country after the hostilities escalated. Toll estimates from local officials suggest that many hundreds of non-combatants may have been fatally injured in the attacks.

As the situation develops, analysis of space-based data will persist to assess the changing battlefield picture.