🔗 Share this article

A wave of US and Israeli strikes has according to analysis eliminated or harmed at least 11 warships belonging to Iran starting Saturday, recently obtained satellite images show, with missile bases and enrichment plants also being targeted.

Pictures of the southern Konarak naval base and the Bandar Abbas port installation, which is located on the strategic Hormuz Strait and contains the headquarters of the Iranian navy, reveal smoke billowing from a number of vessels on recent days.

Naval Assets Incurred Major Losses

Among the targets eliminated was the IRINS Makran, the country's most sizable ship which had been used as a unmanned aerial vehicle platform. Aerial imagery displayed black smoke pouring from the vessel which had been moored at the Bandar Abbas base.

Analytical evaluations suggest that no fewer than a quintet of warships at Bandar Abbas were "damaged or eliminated". Photos of the southern end of the port reveal smoke rising from the Makran, while another pair of ships are visibly harmed, with one visibly ablaze.

Over at Konarak, images display several stricken ships, with intelligence reports identifying damage to a half-dozen warships. Photos taken on Monday also demonstrate that several facilities at the base have been leveled.

"For decades the Iran's leadership has harassed international shipping," the head of US Central Command said. "Today, there is no Iranian vessel at sea in the Arabian Gulf, Hormuz Strait or Sea of Oman, and we will continue."

A number of ships allegedly sunk may have been concealed in aerial photos by weather conditions or battle damage, or hit in open waters, and have not been independently verified. Additional information stated that one Iranian ship was foundering near Sri Lanka's territorial waters, resulting in a rescue operation.

Rocket Sites and Nuclear Facilities Targeted

Neutralizing Iranian missile bases and the stopping atomic bomb programs were stated as further objectives of the offensive. Satellite images also depicted strikes on the southern Khorgu base and northwestern Tabriz missile facilities, and at the Konarak air base, where missile storage facilities and bunkers were hit.

Over at the Choqa Balk-e UAV facility west of the city of Kermanshah, extensive destruction was seen to warehouses, underground facilities and unmanned aircraft systems.

Damage was also seen at a radar installation at the Zahedan airbase in eastern parts of the country, near the border with neighboring nations.

Significantly, the new round of strikes have reportedly hit facilities at the Natanz complex – long said to be at the center of the country's nuclear programme. An international watchdog stated that the damaged structures were used for entry to the site's below-ground enrichment facility and that "no release of radioactive material" was anticipated.

Wider Impact and Assessment

Military analysts indicated that the offensive appeared to have "largely neutralized" the Iran's naval ability to conduct traditional warfare using its largest vessels. Nevertheless, it was noted that Iran maintains the ability to launch asymmetric warfare at sea through the use of unmanned aerial vehicles, mini-submarines and its so-called "shadow fleet" of tankers.

The total extent of the destruction caused to Iran's defense facilities is still uncertain, with hostilities reportedly ongoing. Imagery also reveals considerable destruction to the main offices of the Iran's Revolutionary Guards in the capital Tehran.

A large number of non-military structures also seem to have been hit in the capital and throughout the country after the conflict started. Casualty figures from local officials state that many hundreds of non-combatants may have been lost their lives in the attacks.

As the situation develops, review of space-based data will continue to assess the unfolding scope of damage.