🔗 Share this article

Multiple American and Israeli airstrikes has allegedly eliminated or harmed at least 11 Iranian naval vessels starting the weekend, new orbital imagery show, with launch facilities and atomic facilities also coming under fire.

Pictures of the southern Konarak military port and the Bandar Abbas port installation, which overlooks the strategic Hormuz Strait and contains the main command of the Iran's naval force, show black smoke pouring from a number of ships on Monday and Tuesday.

Naval Fleet Sustained Substantial Losses

Among the vessels destroyed was the Makran, Iran's most sizable ship which had been used as a unmanned aerial vehicle platform. Orbital photos showed thick smoke emanating from the vessel which had been docked at the Bandar Abbas naval base.

Analytical evaluations suggest that at least five vessels at Bandar Abbas were "struck or destroyed". Imagery of the southern part of the harbor show plumes ascending from the Makran, while two other ships appear to be impacted, with one of them seen burning.

Over at the Konarak base, images display numerous stricken ships, with analysis pointing to strikes against a half-dozen warships. Photos taken on Monday also show that several facilities at the installation have been demolished.

"For many years the Tehran government has harassed commercial vessels," a senior US military official stated. "Now, there is not one Iranian vessel operational in the Persian Gulf, Hormuz Strait or Gulf of Oman, and we will continue."

A number of ships allegedly sunk may have been hidden in aerial photos by cloud or smoke, or targeted offshore, and have not been independently verified. Other accounts indicated that one Iranian ship was foundering near Sri Lanka's waters, leading to a search and rescue mission.

Missile Bases and Nuclear Facilities Attacked

The destruction of Tehran's launch facilities and the hindering of nuclear weapons development were declared as further objectives of the offensive. Aerial imagery also showed impacts against the southern Khorgu base and northwestern Tabriz missile missile bases, and at the Konarak air air base, where missile storage facilities and bunkers were targeted.

Over at the Choqa Balk-e drone UAV facility west of the city of Kermanshah, significant damage was observed to sheds, bunkers and unmanned aircraft systems.

Destruction was also seen at a radar site at the Zahedan military airport in eastern Iran, close to the border with Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Significantly, the most recent series of strikes have reportedly focused on installations at the Natanz complex – considered at the center of Iran's nuclear programme. The UN's atomic energy body stated that the damaged buildings were used for entry to the site's underground enrichment facility and that "no nuclear fallout" was likely.

Wider Fallout and Analysis

Defense experts indicated that the strikes appeared to have "largely neutralized" the Iran's naval capability to sustain standard operations using its most significant warships. Nevertheless, it was noted that Tehran still has the option to launch asymmetric warfare at sea through the use of drones, small submarines and its so-called "clandestine network" of tankers.

The full scope of the damage caused to Iran's defense facilities has yet to be fully assessed, with attacks reportedly continuing. Pictures also reveals widespread damage to the command center of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in the city of Tehran.

A significant number of public facilities also seem to have been hit in the capital and throughout Iran since the hostilities escalated. Toll estimates from ground sources state that hundreds of civilians may have been killed in the bombardment.

With the conflict ongoing, monitoring of satellite imagery will persist to track the evolving military landscape.