🔗 Share this article

A series of joint strikes has according to analysis sunk or crippled a minimum of 11 warships belonging to Iran since the weekend, recently obtained satellite images show, with missile bases and atomic facilities also being targeted.

Pictures of the southern Konarak naval base and the Bandar Abbas installation, which sits on the Strait of Hormuz and is home to the headquarters of the Iran's naval force, depict smoke billowing from multiple ships on Monday and Tuesday.

Naval Forces Incurred Major Damage

Among the ships sunk was the Makran, Iran's biggest warship which had functioned as a drone carrier. Orbital photos indicated black smoke emanating from the vessel which had been moored at the Bandar Abbas base.

Analytical evaluations indicate that no fewer than five ships at the port were "struck or destroyed". Photos of the southern end of the harbor depict smoke emanating from the IRINS Makran, while two other ships appear to be impacted, with one clearly on fire.

At Konarak, images reveal several harmed vessels, with expert review identifying strikes against a half-dozen warships. Pictures taken on the start of the week also indicate that multiple buildings at the base have been destroyed.

"For decades the Iranian regime has threatened commercial vessels," an American commander stated. "At present, there is not one vessel from Iran operational in the Arabian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz or Gulf of Oman, and we will continue."

Some vessels reportedly sunk may have been obscured in satellite images by weather conditions or battle damage, or targeted offshore, and have not been conclusively proven. Separate reports suggested that one Iranian ship was sinking near Sri Lanka's waters, leading to a rescue operation.

Missile Bases and Nuclear Facilities Targeted

Neutralizing Iran's rocket sites and the prevention of enrichment activities were declared as further goals of the air campaign. Aerial imagery also revealed strikes on the southerly Khorgu base and northwestern Tabriz facilities, and at the Konarak base, where rocket warehouses and fortifications were struck.

Over at the Choqa Balk-e drone unmanned aircraft site west of Kermanshah, extensive destruction was identified to warehouses, underground facilities and UAV launching apparatus.

Impact was also observed at a surveillance station at the Zahedan airbase airbase in eastern Iran, near the border with Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Significantly, the new round of attacks have apparently focused on sites at Natanz – widely believed to be at the heart of the country's atomic program. A global monitoring agency stated that the damaged structures were used for access to the facility's underground nuclear plant and that "no radiological consequence" was anticipated.

Broader Consequences and Analysis

Defense experts indicated that the strikes appeared to have "largely neutralized" the Iranian navy's capacity to conduct traditional warfare using its most significant vessels. Nevertheless, it was emphasised that Iran maintains the capacity to launch irregular strikes at sea through the use of unmanned aerial vehicles, midget subs and its so-called "shadow fleet" of oil ships.

The total scope of the destruction caused to Iran's defense infrastructure has yet to be fully assessed, with strikes reportedly continuing. Pictures also shows extensive destruction to the main offices of the Iran's Revolutionary Guards in the city of Tehran.

A large number of non-military structures also appear to have been hit in the capital city and throughout the country after the fighting began. Reports of deaths from local officials indicate that many hundreds of non-combatants may have been killed in the strikes.

Amid continuing hostilities, monitoring of aerial photographs will carry on to track the unfolding scope of damage.