🔗 Share this article

A series of joint attacks has allegedly eliminated or harmed a minimum of 11 Iran's navy ships since the weekend, recently obtained satellite images show, with launch facilities and atomic facilities also sustaining hits.

Images of the southerly Konarak military port and the Bandar Abbas facility, which overlooks the Strait of Hormuz and contains the main command of the Iran's naval force, reveal smoke billowing from a number of warships on recent days.

Maritime Assets Incurred Significant Losses

Among the targets eliminated was the IRINS Makran, Iran's biggest warship which had served as a unmanned aerial vehicle platform. Aerial imagery showed dark plumes emanating from the vessel which had been docked at the Bandar Abbas naval base.

Analytical evaluations suggest that at least five vessels at the port were "hit or sunk". Imagery of the southern end of the harbor depict smoke emanating from the IRINS Makran, while another pair of ships seem to be damaged, with a single one visibly ablaze.

Over at Konarak, images display numerous damaged ships, with analysis pointing to strikes against a half-dozen warships. Images taken on Monday also demonstrate that a number of buildings at the installation have been destroyed.

"For a long time the Iran's leadership has harassed commercial vessels," an American commander stated. "At present, there is not a single vessel from Iran at sea in the Persian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz or Gulf of Oman, and we will not stop."

A number of ships allegedly sunk may have been hidden in satellite images by weather conditions or battle damage, or struck at sea, and have not been conclusively proven. Separate reports suggested that a ship from Iran was sinking off the coast of Sri Lanka's territorial waters, prompting a search and rescue mission.

Missile Installations and Nuclear Facilities Hit

Eliminating Iran's rocket sites and the prevention of atomic bomb programs were stated as further objectives of the military strikes. Satellite images also showed damage at the southern Khorgu and northwestern Tabriz missile bases, and at the Konarak air base, where missile storage facilities and bunkers were struck.

Over at the Choqa Balk-e drone base west of Kermanshah, widespread destruction was identified to sheds, underground facilities and drone launch equipment.

Destruction was also observed at a surveillance station at the Zahedan military airport in eastern parts of the country, close to the border with Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Perhaps most notably, the most recent series of attacks have apparently targeted facilities at the Natanz complex – considered at the core of Iran's enrichment efforts. A global monitoring agency stated that the damaged structures were used for entry to the site's underground enrichment facility and that "no radiological consequence" was anticipated.

Wider Consequences and Analysis

Observers indicated that the attacks appeared to have "largely neutralized" the Iran's naval ability to sustain traditional warfare using its largest vessels. However, it was emphasised 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 "shadow fleet" of tankers.

The full scope of the damage caused to Iran's defense facilities is still uncertain, with attacks said to be persisting. Pictures also shows widespread damage to the headquarters of the Iran's Revolutionary Guards in the capital Tehran.

A large number of non-military structures also are reported to have been damaged in the capital city and across the country since the conflict began. Toll estimates from ground sources indicate that hundreds of non-combatants may have been killed in the bombardment.

As the situation develops, monitoring of space-based data will continue to track the changing battlefield picture.