🔗 Share this article

A series of joint attacks has allegedly sunk or crippled a minimum of eleven Iranian naval vessels since the weekend, recently obtained aerial photos show, with missile bases and nuclear sites also being targeted.

Pictures of the southerly Konarak naval naval base and the Bandar Abbas port installation, which sits on the Strait of Hormuz and contains the headquarters of the Iranian navy, reveal plumes of smoke rising from a number of vessels on Monday and Tuesday.

Naval Forces Incurred Significant Losses

Among the ships sunk was the IRINS Makran, Iran's largest naval vessel which had been used as a unmanned aerial vehicle platform. Satellite images indicated thick smoke emanating from the ship which had been stationed at the Bandar Abbas naval base.

Analytical evaluations state that no fewer than a quintet of warships at the port were "struck or destroyed". Pictures of the southern end of the harbor reveal plumes ascending from the IRINS Makran, while two other vessels appear to be damaged, with one clearly on fire.

Over at the Konarak base, images reveal numerous harmed vessels, with expert review pointing to impacts on six ships. Pictures from the start of the week also indicate that a number of facilities at the installation have been demolished.

"For a long time the Iranian regime has disrupted international shipping," a senior US military official declared. "Today, there is no Iranian ship at sea in the Arabian Gulf, Hormuz Strait or Sea of Oman, and we will not stop."

A number of vessels reportedly destroyed may have been obscured in aerial photos by haze or plumes, or hit in open waters, and have not been conclusively proven. Additional information suggested that one Iranian ship was sinking off the coast of Sri Lankan territorial waters, resulting in a rescue operation.

Rocket Installations and Nuclear Facilities Hit

Neutralizing Tehran's launch facilities and the hindering of nuclear weapons development were listed as other objectives of the military strikes. Satellite images also depicted strikes on the southern Khorgu and north-western Tabriz missile missile bases, and at the Konarak base, where weapons bunkers and bunkers were struck.

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

Destruction was also observed at a surveillance station at the Zahedan airbase airbase in eastern parts of the country, close to the frontier with Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Of particular note, the most recent series of strikes have apparently hit sites at Natanz – considered at the core of Iran's nuclear programme. A global monitoring agency commented that the damaged buildings were used for access to the site's underground nuclear plant and that "no nuclear fallout" was expected.

Broader Consequences and Analysis

Military analysts suggested that the attacks appeared to have "largely neutralized" the Iranian navy's ability to sustain traditional warfare using its biggest warships. But, it was stressed that Tehran maintains the ability to launch asymmetric warfare at sea through the use of drones, small submarines and its so-called "clandestine network" of oil ships.

The overall extent of the damage caused to Iran's defense facilities remains unclear, with attacks reportedly continuing. Photos also reveals considerable damage to the main offices of the Iran's Revolutionary Guards in the capital Tehran.

A large number of civilian buildings also seem to have been struck in the capital city and throughout the country after the fighting began. Toll estimates from inside Iran state that a high number of non-combatants may have been fatally injured in the strikes.

With the conflict ongoing, monitoring of satellite imagery will carry on to track the evolving military landscape.