🔗 Share this article

Multiple US and Israeli airstrikes has reportedly destroyed or damaged no fewer than eleven Iranian naval vessels starting Saturday, freshly analyzed satellite images show, with rocket sites and enrichment plants also coming under fire.

Pictures of the southerly Konarak naval military port and the Bandar Abbas port facility, which sits on the Strait of Hormuz and houses the headquarters of the Iran's naval force, show smoke billowing from a number of vessels on the start of the week.

Maritime Assets Sustained Significant Damage

Included in the targets eliminated was the Makran, Iran's biggest warship which had been used as a drone carrier. Aerial imagery indicated dark plumes pouring from the ship which had been moored at the Bandar Abbas naval base.

Analytical reports suggest that at least five vessels at Bandar Abbas were "struck or destroyed". Imagery of the southern part of the port show smoke emanating from the Makran, while two other vessels appear to be harmed, with a single one visibly ablaze.

At Konarak, photos show several damaged vessels, with analysis pointing to impacts on a half-dozen warships. Pictures from Monday also demonstrate that multiple structures at the installation have been leveled.

"For decades the Tehran government has harassed international shipping," a senior US military official stated. "Now, there is not one Iranian ship underway in the Persian Gulf, Hormuz Strait or Sea of Oman, and we will continue."

Some vessels allegedly sunk may have been obscured in aerial photos by cloud or smoke, or struck at sea, and have not been independently verified. Additional information suggested that a ship from Iran was going down near Sri Lankan waters, resulting in a search and rescue mission.

Missile Installations and Nuclear Locations Targeted

Neutralizing Tehran's launch facilities and the hindering of atomic bomb programs were declared as other objectives of the military strikes. Satellite images also showed strikes on the southern Khorgu and northwestern Tabriz missile missile bases, and at the Konarak base, where rocket warehouses and fortifications were hit.

At the Choqa Balk-e UAV facility west of Kermanshah, significant damage was identified to sheds, 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, near the border with neighboring nations.

Significantly, the new round of attacks have reportedly focused on sites at Natanz – long said to be at the heart of Iran's nuclear programme. A global monitoring agency said that the damaged structures were used for access to the facility's underground enrichment facility and that "no nuclear fallout" was anticipated.

Wider Impact and Analysis

Defense experts indicated that the strikes appeared to have "greatly reduced" the Iran's naval ability to conduct standard operations using its largest vessels. However, it was noted that Tehran still has the option to launch unconventional attacks at sea through the use of drones, midget subs and its so-called "clandestine network" of tankers.

The full scale of the damage caused to Iranian military facilities remains unclear, with strikes said to be persisting. Photos also reveals considerable damage to the headquarters of the Iran's Revolutionary Guards in the capital Tehran.

Numerous of civilian buildings also appear to have been hit in the capital city and across the country since the conflict began. Casualty figures from local officials indicate that many hundreds of civilians may have been lost their lives in the strikes.

With the conflict ongoing, analysis of aerial photographs will carry on to assess the unfolding scope of damage.