🔗 Share this article

A series of American and Israeli attacks has reportedly sunk or crippled a minimum of eleven Iranian naval vessels starting the weekend, recently obtained satellite images reveal, with launch facilities and nuclear sites also coming under fire.

Pictures of the southern Konarak military port and the Bandar Abbas installation, which sits on the strategic Hormuz Strait and houses the main command of the Iran's naval force, reveal smoke billowing from a number of vessels on recent days.

Maritime Forces Sustained Significant Damage

Included in the vessels destroyed was the IRINS Makran, Iran's biggest warship which had been used as a unmanned aerial vehicle platform. Orbital photos showed dark plumes pouring from the ship which had been moored at the Bandar Abbas naval base.

Analytical assessments indicate that no fewer than a quintet of warships at the port were "damaged or eliminated". Photos of the southern end of the harbor show smoke rising from the IRINS Makran, while additional vessels appear to be harmed, with a single one visibly ablaze.

At Konarak, images show several stricken ships, with intelligence reports identifying damage to six ships. Pictures taken on Monday also indicate that several facilities at the base have been demolished.

"For decades the Tehran government has threatened commercial vessels," the head of US Central Command said. "Now, there is not one Iranian ship underway in the Persian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz or Gulf of Oman, and we will continue."

A number of vessels reportedly destroyed may have been obscured in aerial photos by haze or plumes, or struck at sea, and have not been conclusively proven. Separate reports stated that one Iranian ship was sinking off the coast of Sri Lanka's territorial waters, leading to a search and rescue mission.

Rocket Bases and Atomic Locations Attacked

Neutralizing Iranian missile bases and the prevention of atomic bomb programs were declared as further objectives of the offensive. Satellite images also showed damage at the southerly Khorgu base and northwestern Tabriz missile facilities, and at the Konarak base, where missile storage facilities and fortifications were targeted.

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

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

Significantly, the new round of strikes have apparently hit facilities at the Natanz complex – widely believed to be at the center of the country's nuclear programme. The UN's atomic energy body said that the affected structures were used for access to the facility's below-ground enrichment facility and that "no radiological consequence" was anticipated.

Broader Impact and Analysis

Observers indicated that the offensive appeared to have "greatly reduced" the Iran's naval capability to carry out conventional attacks using its biggest vessels. Nevertheless, it was noted that Tehran still has the option to launch asymmetric warfare at sea through the use of unmanned aerial vehicles, small submarines and its so-called "clandestine network" of oil ships.

The overall extent of the destruction caused to Iran's defense facilities remains unclear, with strikes reportedly continuing. Imagery also reveals extensive damage to the main offices of the the IRGC in the capital Tehran.

A large number of non-military structures also are reported to have been hit in the capital and across Iran after the hostilities escalated. Reports of deaths from ground sources suggest that hundreds of non-combatants may have been killed in the attacks.

With the conflict ongoing, review of space-based data will persist to document the unfolding military landscape.