🔗 Share this article

A wave of joint strikes has according to analysis eliminated or harmed at least 11 Iran's navy ships starting the weekend, freshly analyzed orbital imagery show, with rocket sites and enrichment plants also being targeted.

Photographs of the southern Konarak naval military port and the Bandar Abbas installation, which overlooks the Strait of Hormuz and contains the main command of the Iranian navy, show smoke billowing from multiple ships on Monday and Tuesday.

Naval Forces Sustained Significant Damage

Among the targets eliminated was the IRINS Makran, the country's largest naval vessel which had served as a drone carrier. Satellite images displayed black smoke rising from the vessel which had been docked at the Bandar Abbas base.

Analytical evaluations suggest that no fewer than five ships at Bandar Abbas were "damaged or eliminated". Photos of the southern end of the harbor show smoke rising from the IRINS Makran, while two other vessels appear to be harmed, with a single one clearly on fire.

At Konarak, photos display multiple stricken vessels, with analysis identifying damage to six vessels. Images from Monday also indicate that several structures at the installation have been demolished.

"For decades the Iran's leadership has disrupted commercial vessels," an American commander stated. "Now, there is no vessel from Iran operational in the Arabian Gulf, Hormuz Strait or Sea of Oman, and we will continue."

Some vessels reportedly sunk may have been hidden in satellite images by cloud or smoke, or hit in open waters, and have yet to be fully confirmed. Separate reports stated that an Iranian vessel was foundering near Sri Lanka's territorial waters, prompting a search and rescue mission.

Missile Installations and Atomic Locations Attacked

The destruction of Iranian missile bases and the hindering of atomic bomb programs were declared as further goals of the air campaign. Satellite images also depicted damage at the southern Khorgu base and northwestern Tabriz missile facilities, and at the Konarak air base, where missile storage facilities and fortifications were targeted.

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

Damage was also seen at a radar site at the Zahedan airbase airbase in eastern Iran, near the frontier with Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Perhaps most notably, the new round of attacks have reportedly focused on sites at the Natanz complex – considered at the center of the country's nuclear programme. A global monitoring agency commented that the damaged buildings were used for entry to the site's below-ground enrichment facility and that "no release of radioactive material" was likely.

Broader Fallout and Assessment

Defense experts stated that the strikes appeared to have "greatly reduced" the Iranian navy's capacity to conduct traditional warfare using its biggest vessels. But, it was noted that Tehran maintains the option to launch asymmetric warfare at sea through the use of unmanned aerial vehicles, mini-submarines and its so-called "clandestine network" of oil ships.

The full extent of the damage caused to Iranian military facilities is still uncertain, with attacks reportedly continuing. Imagery also reveals widespread destruction to the headquarters of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in the capital Tehran.

A significant number of public facilities also appear to have been hit in the capital city and throughout the country since the fighting began. Reports of deaths from local officials suggest that a high number of non-combatants may have been killed in the bombardment.

With the conflict ongoing, analysis of space-based data will persist to assess the evolving battlefield picture.