🔗 Share this article

A wave of joint attacks has reportedly sunk or crippled no fewer than 11 Iranian naval vessels starting the weekend, recently obtained aerial photos demonstrate, with launch facilities and enrichment plants also sustaining hits.

Images of the southerly Konarak military port and the Bandar Abbas port installation, which is located on the Strait of Hormuz and houses the headquarters of the Iran's naval force, show plumes of smoke rising from a number of warships on recent days.

Maritime Fleet Sustained Major Losses

Among the ships sunk was the IRINS Makran, the country's most sizable ship which had served as a unmanned aerial vehicle platform. Aerial imagery showed dark plumes pouring from the ship which had been moored at the Bandar Abbas naval base.

Analytical evaluations suggest that no fewer than a quintet of warships at Bandar Abbas were "hit or sunk". Pictures of the southern part of the harbor reveal plumes ascending from the Makran, while another pair of ships are visibly impacted, with a single one seen burning.

At Konarak, photos show numerous stricken vessels, with expert review identifying impacts on six ships. Pictures from the start of the week also indicate that multiple facilities at the base have been leveled.

"For many years the Iranian regime has harassed commercial vessels," the head of US Central Command said. "Today, there is not one Iranian vessel operational in the Arabian Gulf, Hormuz Strait or Sea of Oman, and we will persist."

Some ships allegedly destroyed may have been hidden in satellite images by haze or plumes, or targeted offshore, and have not been independently verified. Separate reports suggested that an Iranian vessel was foundering off the coast of Sri Lanka's territorial waters, prompting a rescue operation.

Rocket Installations and Nuclear Locations Attacked

Neutralizing Iranian missile bases and the prevention of atomic bomb programs were listed as further aims of the military strikes. Aerial imagery also revealed damage at the southerly Khorgu base and northwestern Tabriz facilities, and at the Konarak base, where missile storage facilities and fortifications were targeted.

At the Choqa Balk-e drone drone base to the west of Kermanshah, widespread destruction was observed to storage buildings, underground facilities and unmanned aircraft systems.

Destruction was also noted at a radar installation at the Zahedan airbase military airport in eastern Iran, close to the border with neighboring nations.

Significantly, the most recent series of strikes have reportedly hit facilities at Natanz – long said to be at the heart of Iran's nuclear programme. An international watchdog commented that the affected structures were used for entry to the site's below-ground nuclear plant and that "no radiological consequence" was anticipated.

Broader Consequences and Analysis

Observers suggested that the strikes appeared to have "greatly reduced" the Iranian navy's capability to conduct traditional warfare using its most significant vessels. But, it was stressed that Iran retains the ability to launch asymmetric warfare at sea through the use of unmanned aerial vehicles, midget subs and its so-called "ghost fleet" of oil ships.

The overall extent of the destruction caused to Iran's defense infrastructure remains unclear, with attacks said to be ongoing. Photos also shows extensive damage to the main offices of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in the capital Tehran.

A large number of public facilities also appear to have been struck in the capital city and throughout Iran since the conflict escalated. Toll estimates from local officials indicate that many hundreds of civilians may have been lost their lives in the attacks.

Amid continuing hostilities, analysis of aerial photographs will persist to document the changing scope of damage.