🔗 Share this article

Multiple American and Israeli airstrikes has according to analysis sunk or crippled a minimum of eleven Iran's navy ships starting the weekend, freshly analyzed satellite images demonstrate, with missile bases and enrichment plants also sustaining hits.

Images of the southern Konarak military port and the Bandar Abbas facility, which overlooks the Strait of Hormuz and is home to the headquarters of the Iran's naval force, depict smoke billowing from multiple warships on Monday and Tuesday.

Maritime Fleet Incurred Significant Damage

Included in the vessels destroyed was the Makran, the country's biggest warship which had functioned as a drone carrier. Satellite images indicated thick smoke rising from the vessel which had been moored at the Bandar Abbas naval base.

Analytical reports suggest that no fewer than five vessels at Bandar Abbas were "damaged or eliminated". Pictures of the southern end of the harbor depict smoke rising from the IRINS Makran, while two other ships appear to be impacted, with a single one visibly ablaze.

Over at the Konarak base, photos reveal multiple stricken ships, with intelligence reports pointing to strikes against a half-dozen warships. Photos taken on the start of the week also demonstrate that multiple buildings at the base have been destroyed.

"For a long time the Tehran government has disrupted global maritime traffic," the head of US Central Command stated. "Today, there is not one vessel from Iran underway in the Persian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz or Sea of Oman, and we will not stop."

Some vessels allegedly sunk may have been hidden in satellite images by haze or plumes, or targeted offshore, and have yet to be fully confirmed. Separate reports indicated that one Iranian ship was foundering near Sri Lankan territorial waters, resulting in a rescue operation.

Missile Bases and Nuclear Locations Attacked

Neutralizing Tehran's launch facilities and the hindering of atomic bomb programs were stated as other objectives of the air campaign. Aerial imagery also revealed damage at the southerly Khorgu base and northwestern Tabriz facilities, and at the Konarak air base, where missile storage facilities and fortifications were struck.

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

Impact was also noted at a radar site at the Zahedan military airport in eastern Iran, near the border with neighboring nations.

Perhaps most notably, the new round of attacks have reportedly focused on facilities at Natanz – widely believed to be at the center of the country's atomic program. A global monitoring agency commented that the damaged structures were used for entry to the facility's below-ground enrichment facility and that "no radiological consequence" was expected.

Broader Consequences and Assessment

Observers stated that the offensive appeared to have "significantly degraded" the Iranian navy's capacity to conduct standard operations using its most significant warships. Nevertheless, it was stressed that Tehran still has the ability to launch asymmetric warfare at sea through the use of unmanned aerial vehicles, midget subs and its so-called "clandestine network" of oil ships.

The overall scale of the damage caused to Iranian military facilities is still uncertain, with hostilities said to be persisting. Pictures also reveals widespread destruction to the headquarters of the the IRGC in the city of Tehran.

A significant number of civilian buildings also appear to have been damaged in the capital and throughout the country after the fighting started. Reports of deaths from inside Iran state that hundreds of civilians may have been killed in the bombardment.

Amid continuing hostilities, analysis of space-based data will carry on to document the evolving battlefield picture.