🔗 Share this article

A series of American and Israeli attacks has reportedly sunk or crippled no fewer than 11 warships belonging to Iran starting the weekend, recently obtained aerial photos demonstrate, with rocket sites and enrichment plants also being targeted.

Pictures of the southern Konarak military port and the Bandar Abbas facility, which is located on the Strait of Hormuz and is home to the headquarters of the Iran's naval force, depict black smoke pouring from multiple vessels on Monday and Tuesday.

Naval Forces Incurred Significant Losses

Among the vessels destroyed was the IRINS Makran, the country's biggest warship which had functioned as a unmanned aerial vehicle platform. Orbital photos showed dark plumes pouring from the vessel which had been stationed at the Bandar Abbas base.

Intelligence assessments state that at least five ships at the port were "damaged or eliminated". Pictures of the south end of the port reveal plumes ascending from the Makran, while additional ships are visibly harmed, with one seen burning.

At the Konarak base, photos reveal numerous damaged ships, with analysis identifying damage to six vessels. Images taken on the start of the week also indicate that a number of buildings at the installation have been leveled.

"For a long time the Tehran government has threatened international shipping," a senior US military official said. "Now, there is no vessel from Iran operational in the Arabian Gulf, Hormuz Strait or Gulf of Oman, and we will persist."

A number of ships reportedly sunk may have been obscured in aerial photos by haze or plumes, or struck at sea, and have not been independently verified. Other accounts indicated that a ship from Iran was foundering off the coast of Sri Lankan territorial waters, resulting in a rescue operation.

Missile Installations and Nuclear Locations Targeted

The destruction of Iranian missile bases and the prevention of enrichment activities were listed as further goals of the offensive. Satellite images also showed impacts against the southern Khorgu and north-western Tabriz missile missile bases, and at the Konarak air air base, where weapons bunkers and fortifications were hit.

Over at the Choqa Balk-e UAV facility to the west of Kermanshah, extensive destruction was seen to warehouses, bunkers and UAV launching apparatus.

Damage was also noted at a surveillance station at the Zahedan airbase military airport in eastern parts of the country, close to the border with neighboring nations.

Perhaps most notably, the most recent series of attacks have reportedly hit installations at the Natanz complex – long said to be at the core of the country's atomic program. An international watchdog commented that the affected buildings were used for access to the site's underground nuclear plant and that "no release of radioactive material" was likely.

Broader Impact and Analysis

Defense experts indicated that the attacks appeared to have "largely neutralized" the Iran's naval capacity to conduct traditional warfare using its biggest warships. Nevertheless, it was noted that Tehran maintains the option to launch unconventional attacks at sea through the use of drones, small submarines and its so-called "clandestine network" of oil ships.

The full scale of the destruction caused to Iran's defense infrastructure is still uncertain, with strikes said to be continuing. Photos also shows considerable damage to the headquarters of the Iran's Revolutionary Guards in the capital Tehran.

A large number of public facilities also are reported to have been damaged in the capital city and throughout Iran after the hostilities began. Casualty figures from local officials suggest that a high number of non-combatants may have been killed in the attacks.

As the situation develops, monitoring of satellite imagery will carry on to assess the evolving battlefield picture.