🔗 Share this article

A wave of American and Israeli airstrikes has reportedly eliminated or harmed a minimum of 11 warships belonging to Iran starting Saturday, recently obtained satellite images reveal, with launch facilities and atomic facilities also coming under fire.

Images of the southern Konarak naval military port and the Bandar Abbas port facility, which overlooks the Strait of Hormuz and houses the main command of the Iran's naval force, show plumes of smoke rising from a number of ships on Monday and Tuesday.

Maritime Fleet Sustained Significant Damage

Included in the targets eliminated was the IRINS Makran, Iran's largest naval vessel which had served as a drone carrier. Aerial imagery showed thick smoke rising from the vessel which had been moored at the Bandar Abbas naval base.

Intelligence reports indicate that at least a quintet of warships at the port were "damaged or eliminated". Pictures of the southern end of the harbor reveal smoke rising from the IRINS Makran, while two other ships are visibly impacted, with one of them clearly on fire.

Over at Konarak, images show numerous damaged ships, with expert review pointing to impacts on six vessels. Pictures from the start of the week also show that a number of buildings at the installation have been demolished.

"For a long time the Iranian regime has disrupted global maritime traffic," the head of US Central Command stated. "Today, there is not one vessel from Iran underway in the Arabian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz or Gulf of Oman, and we will continue."

Some vessels allegedly destroyed may have been concealed in satellite images by cloud or smoke, or hit in open waters, and have yet to be fully confirmed. Separate reports indicated that an Iranian vessel was going down off the coast of Sri Lankan territorial waters, prompting a search and rescue mission.

Rocket Sites and Atomic Facilities Targeted

Neutralizing Iran's rocket sites and the prevention of atomic bomb programs were listed as other aims of the offensive. Aerial imagery also showed impacts against the southerly Khorgu base and north-western Tabriz missile facilities, and at the Konarak air base, where rocket warehouses and fortifications were struck.

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

Damage was also observed at a radar installation at the Zahedan military airport in eastern parts of the country, close to the border with neighboring nations.

Perhaps most notably, the new round of attacks have reportedly targeted facilities at Natanz – considered at the core of the country's atomic program. A global monitoring agency stated that the damaged structures were used for access to the facility's underground enrichment facility and that "no release of radioactive material" was expected.

Broader Consequences and Assessment

Military analysts suggested that the strikes appeared to have "largely neutralized" the Iranian navy's capability to sustain traditional warfare using its most significant vessels. But, it was emphasised that Tehran retains the ability to launch asymmetric warfare at sea through the use of drones, mini-submarines and its so-called "clandestine network" of tankers.

The overall scale of the destruction caused to Iranian military facilities has yet to be fully assessed, with strikes said to be persisting. Pictures also reveals widespread damage to the headquarters of the Iran's Revolutionary Guards in the city of Tehran.

A large number of non-military structures also seem to have been hit in the capital city and throughout the country after the hostilities began. Reports of deaths from inside Iran indicate that many hundreds of non-combatants may have been killed in the attacks.

With the conflict ongoing, review of space-based data will carry on to assess the unfolding scope of damage.