🔗 Share this article

Multiple joint attacks has allegedly sunk or crippled no fewer than eleven Iran's navy ships starting the weekend, new satellite images demonstrate, with launch facilities and enrichment plants also being targeted.

Pictures of the southern Konarak military port and the Bandar Abbas port facility, which is located on the Strait of Hormuz and contains the main command of the Iranian navy, depict plumes of smoke rising from multiple warships on Monday and Tuesday.

Naval Forces Incurred Significant Damage

Included in the vessels destroyed was the IRINS Makran, Iran's biggest warship which had been used as a drone carrier. Satellite images indicated black smoke pouring from the ship which had been docked at the Bandar Abbas base.

Analytical evaluations state that at least a quintet of warships at the port were "damaged or eliminated". Imagery of the southern end of the harbor reveal plumes ascending from the IRINS Makran, while additional ships seem to be impacted, with a single one clearly on fire.

Over at the Konarak base, images reveal several stricken vessels, with expert review identifying strikes against six vessels. Pictures taken on the start of the week also indicate that several buildings at the base have been leveled.

"For a long time the Tehran government has threatened global maritime traffic," the head of US Central Command stated. "At present, there is not a single Iranian ship at sea in the Arabian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz or Gulf of Oman, and we will continue."

A number of vessels reportedly sunk may have been hidden in satellite images by haze or plumes, or hit in open waters, and have yet to be fully confirmed. Additional information suggested that a ship from Iran was going down off the coast of Sri Lankan territorial waters, prompting a search and rescue mission.

Missile Bases and Nuclear Facilities Attacked

The destruction of Iran's rocket sites and the hindering of atomic bomb programs were stated as further goals of the offensive. Satellite images also depicted strikes on the southern Khorgu base and northwestern Tabriz missile missile bases, and at the Konarak base, where weapons bunkers and bunkers were hit.

At the Choqa Balk-e drone drone base to the west of Kermanshah, significant destruction was observed to sheds, underground facilities and UAV launching apparatus.

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

Perhaps most notably, the most recent series of attacks have reportedly hit facilities at the Natanz complex – considered at the core of Iran's enrichment efforts. The UN's atomic energy body stated that the damaged buildings were used for access to the facility's below-ground enrichment facility and that "no nuclear fallout" was expected.

Wider Consequences and Assessment

Military analysts stated that the attacks appeared to have "significantly degraded" the Iranian navy's capability to conduct traditional warfare using its most significant vessels. However, it was noted that Tehran still has the capacity to launch irregular strikes at sea through the use of unmanned aerial vehicles, small submarines and its so-called "clandestine network" of oil ships.

The total extent of the damage caused to Iran's defense infrastructure is still uncertain, with strikes reportedly persisting. Imagery also indicates considerable damage to the command center of the Iran's Revolutionary Guards in the city of Tehran.

A large number of non-military structures also seem to have been damaged in the capital and across the country since the hostilities escalated. Reports of deaths from inside Iran indicate that many hundreds of civilians may have been fatally injured in the bombardment.

Amid continuing hostilities, review of satellite imagery will continue to track the changing scope of damage.