🔗 Share this article

A wave of joint airstrikes has allegedly sunk or crippled at least 11 Iran's navy ships since Saturday, freshly analyzed orbital imagery show, with missile bases and atomic facilities also being targeted.

Images of the southerly Konarak naval military port and the Bandar Abbas port installation, which overlooks the Strait of Hormuz and is home to the main command of the Iran's naval force, reveal plumes of smoke rising from several ships on the start of the week.

Maritime Fleet Sustained Significant Losses

Among the targets eliminated was the Makran, the country's most sizable ship which had served as a unmanned aerial vehicle platform. Aerial imagery indicated dark plumes emanating from the ship which had been stationed at the Bandar Abbas naval base.

Analytical assessments state that no fewer than a quintet of warships at the port were "hit or sunk". Imagery of the southern end of the harbor show smoke emanating from the IRINS Makran, while two other ships seem to be damaged, with one of them clearly on fire.

Over at the Konarak base, photos reveal multiple stricken vessels, with expert review pointing to impacts on a half-dozen warships. Photos from the start of the week also indicate that multiple buildings at the installation have been leveled.

"For decades the Tehran government has threatened commercial vessels," the head of US Central Command stated. "Today, there is not a single Iranian vessel underway in the Arabian Gulf, Hormuz Strait or Sea of Oman, and we will continue."

A number of ships allegedly sunk may have been obscured in satellite images by haze or plumes, or struck at sea, and have not been independently verified. Other accounts stated that an Iranian vessel was foundering near Sri Lanka's waters, leading to a search and rescue mission.

Missile Sites and Atomic Facilities Targeted

The destruction of Tehran's launch facilities and the stopping enrichment activities were stated as additional aims of the air campaign. Satellite images also depicted impacts against the southerly Khorgu base and northwestern Tabriz facilities, and at the Konarak air air base, where missile storage facilities and bunkers were hit.

Over at the Choqa Balk-e drone drone base to the west of Kermanshah, extensive damage was observed to warehouses, underground facilities and unmanned aircraft systems.

Damage was also seen at a radar installation at the Zahedan airbase military airport in eastern parts of the country, close to the frontier with Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Of particular note, the latest wave of attacks have reportedly targeted facilities at Natanz – considered at the center of Iran's atomic program. The UN's atomic energy body stated that the affected buildings were used for entry to the site's below-ground nuclear plant and that "no nuclear fallout" was anticipated.

Broader Impact and Analysis

Military analysts indicated that the attacks appeared to have "greatly reduced" the Iranian navy's capacity to carry out conventional attacks using its most significant warships. But, it was stressed that Tehran retains the option to launch irregular strikes at sea through the use of drones, midget subs and its so-called "clandestine network" of oil ships.

The total extent of the damage caused to Iran's defense infrastructure has yet to be fully assessed, with strikes reportedly persisting. Imagery also shows widespread destruction to the main offices of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in the city of Tehran.

A large number of public facilities also are reported to have been damaged in the capital city and across Iran since the hostilities began. Reports of deaths from inside Iran indicate that many hundreds of non-combatants may have been fatally injured in the attacks.

As the situation develops, analysis of aerial photographs will carry on to document the unfolding military landscape.