🔗 Share this article

A wave of US and Israeli strikes has allegedly sunk or crippled no fewer than 11 Iranian naval vessels starting the weekend, freshly analyzed satellite images show, with rocket sites and enrichment plants also being targeted.

Images of the southern Konarak military port and the Bandar Abbas facility, which sits on the strategic Hormuz Strait and is home to the headquarters of the Iranian navy, reveal plumes of smoke rising from a number of vessels on Monday and Tuesday.

Naval Assets Incurred Significant Damage

Included in the ships sunk was the Makran, Iran's largest naval vessel which had served as a drone carrier. Satellite images indicated dark plumes emanating from the ship which had been docked at the Bandar Abbas base.

Analytical evaluations indicate that at least five vessels at the port were "hit or sunk". Photos of the south end of the port show plumes ascending from the Makran, while another pair of ships seem to be damaged, with one seen burning.

At the Konarak base, images show numerous stricken vessels, with expert review identifying damage to a half-dozen warships. Photos taken on the start of the week also demonstrate that multiple structures at the base have been destroyed.

"For a long time the Tehran government has disrupted international shipping," an American commander declared. "Today, there is not one vessel from Iran underway in the Persian Gulf, Hormuz Strait or Gulf of Oman, and we will continue."

Some vessels reportedly destroyed may have been hidden in satellite images by cloud or smoke, or struck at sea, and have not been conclusively proven. Additional information stated that one Iranian ship was sinking near Sri Lankan waters, prompting a search and rescue mission.

Missile Bases and Nuclear Facilities Hit

The destruction of Iranian missile bases and the hindering of enrichment activities were declared as further objectives of the air campaign. Satellite images also revealed damage at the southern Khorgu and northwestern Tabriz missile bases, and at the Konarak air air base, where rocket warehouses and bunkers were hit.

At the Choqa Balk-e UAV facility to the west of Kermanshah, widespread damage was observed to warehouses, bunkers and drone launch equipment.

Destruction was also noted at a surveillance station at the Zahedan military airport in eastern Iran, near the frontier with neighboring nations.

Of particular note, the most recent series of attacks have reportedly hit installations at the Natanz complex – long said to be at the core of the country's atomic program. The UN's atomic energy body stated that the damaged structures were used for entry to the facility's underground enrichment facility and that "no radiological consequence" was anticipated.

Broader Fallout and Assessment

Observers stated that the attacks appeared to have "greatly reduced" the Iranian navy's capability to sustain conventional attacks using its biggest warships. But, it was stressed that Iran retains the ability to launch asymmetric warfare at sea through the use of drones, small submarines and its so-called "shadow fleet" of oil ships.

The full scale of the destruction caused to Iranian military facilities remains unclear, with attacks reportedly ongoing. Photos also reveals extensive damage to the command center of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in the city of Tehran.

A large number of non-military structures also seem to have been hit in the capital and across the country after the hostilities began. Reports of deaths from inside Iran indicate that a high number of non-combatants may have been fatally injured in the bombardment.

As the situation develops, monitoring of space-based data will persist to document the evolving scope of damage.