🔗 Share this article

A series of joint strikes has according to analysis eliminated or harmed at least eleven Iran's navy ships starting the weekend, new aerial photos show, with rocket sites and nuclear sites also sustaining hits.

Pictures of the southerly Konarak naval naval base and the Bandar Abbas port facility, which is located on the strategic Hormuz Strait and contains the main command of the Iranian navy, depict smoke billowing from multiple warships on Monday and Tuesday.

Naval Fleet Incurred Major Damage

Among the vessels destroyed was the IRINS Makran, Iran's most sizable ship which had served as a unmanned aerial vehicle platform. Orbital photos displayed dark plumes rising from the ship which had been docked at the Bandar Abbas naval base.

Analytical evaluations state that no fewer than a quintet of warships at the port were "struck or destroyed". Pictures of the south end of the harbor reveal smoke rising from the IRINS Makran, while two other vessels seem to be harmed, with one of them clearly on fire.

Over at Konarak, images display multiple damaged ships, with intelligence reports pointing to damage to a half-dozen warships. Images taken on the start of the week also demonstrate that several facilities at the installation have been leveled.

"For a long time the Iranian regime has threatened global maritime traffic," a senior US military official declared. "Now, there is no Iranian ship at sea in the Persian Gulf, Hormuz Strait or Sea of Oman, and we will not stop."

A number of ships reportedly sunk may have been concealed in satellite images by cloud or smoke, or hit in open waters, and have yet to be fully confirmed. Additional information indicated that an Iranian vessel was foundering off the coast of Sri Lanka's territorial waters, prompting a search and rescue mission.

Rocket Sites and Atomic Locations Hit

Eliminating Tehran's launch facilities and the hindering of enrichment activities were stated as other aims of the offensive. Satellite images also depicted impacts against the southern Khorgu and northwestern Tabriz facilities, and at the Konarak air air base, where rocket warehouses and bunkers were hit.

Over at the Choqa Balk-e UAV facility to the west of the city of Kermanshah, extensive destruction was seen to warehouses, bunkers and UAV launching apparatus.

Destruction was also seen at a radar installation at the Zahedan airbase airbase in eastern Iran, close to the border with neighboring nations.

Of particular note, the latest wave of attacks have apparently hit sites at Natanz – considered at the heart of Iran's nuclear programme. The UN's atomic energy body stated that the affected buildings were used for access to the facility's underground enrichment facility and that "no nuclear fallout" was expected.

Wider Fallout and Analysis

Observers suggested that the attacks appeared to have "greatly reduced" the Iran's naval ability to carry out traditional warfare using its most significant warships. But, it was noted that Tehran still has the option to launch unconventional attacks at sea through the use of unmanned aerial vehicles, small submarines and its so-called "ghost fleet" of oil ships.

The overall extent of the destruction caused to Iran's defense facilities remains unclear, with hostilities reportedly ongoing. Imagery also indicates extensive damage to the headquarters of the the IRGC in the capital Tehran.

A significant number of civilian buildings also seem to have been hit in the capital and throughout the country after the hostilities started. Casualty figures from ground sources state that many hundreds of civilians may have been killed in the bombardment.

With the conflict ongoing, review of space-based data will continue to document the unfolding scope of damage.