🔗 Share this article

A wave of joint airstrikes has reportedly destroyed or damaged at least eleven warships belonging to Iran starting Saturday, new orbital imagery show, with missile bases and enrichment plants also sustaining hits.

Photographs of the southerly Konarak naval base and the Bandar Abbas installation, which overlooks the strategic Hormuz Strait and houses the main command of the Iranian navy, show black smoke pouring from multiple warships on the start of the week.

Maritime Fleet Sustained Major Losses

Among the ships sunk was the IRINS Makran, the country's largest naval vessel which had been used as a unmanned aerial vehicle platform. Satellite images displayed dark plumes emanating from the ship which had been docked at the Bandar Abbas base.

Intelligence assessments state that at least five ships at Bandar Abbas were "struck or destroyed". Photos of the southern part of the harbor depict plumes ascending from the IRINS Makran, while additional ships seem to be impacted, with one clearly on fire.

Over at Konarak, photos reveal numerous stricken vessels, with expert review pointing to damage to a half-dozen warships. Images from the start of the week also indicate that multiple structures at the base have been leveled.

"For many years the Tehran government has harassed commercial vessels," an American commander stated. "Now, there is not a single vessel from Iran operational in the Persian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz or Sea of Oman, and we will continue."

Some vessels reportedly destroyed may have been concealed in aerial photos by weather conditions or battle damage, or hit in open waters, and have yet to be fully confirmed. Additional information suggested that one Iranian ship was going down off the coast of Sri Lanka's territorial waters, leading to a rescue operation.

Rocket Bases and Atomic Facilities Hit

Neutralizing Iran's rocket sites and the hindering of enrichment activities were declared as additional aims of the air campaign. Aerial imagery also depicted impacts against the southerly Khorgu and northwestern Tabriz missile missile bases, and at the Konarak base, where missile storage facilities and fortifications were targeted.

At the Choqa Balk-e unmanned aircraft site to the west of the city of Kermanshah, significant destruction was seen to warehouses, bunkers and UAV launching apparatus.

Damage was also seen at a radar site at the Zahedan airbase in eastern parts of the country, close to the border with neighboring nations.

Of particular note, the latest wave of strikes have reportedly targeted facilities at the Natanz complex – considered at the core of Iran's nuclear programme. A global monitoring agency said that the affected structures were used for entry to the facility's below-ground nuclear plant and that "no nuclear fallout" was likely.

Wider Consequences and Assessment

Observers suggested that the attacks appeared to have "greatly reduced" the Iran's naval ability to carry out conventional attacks using its most significant warships. Nevertheless, it was noted that Iran still has the ability to launch unconventional attacks at sea through the use of drones, mini-submarines and its so-called "ghost fleet" of tankers.

The total scale of the damage caused to Iranian military facilities remains unclear, with strikes reportedly ongoing. Photos also shows considerable damage to the headquarters of the the IRGC in the capital Tehran.

A large number of non-military structures also seem to have been hit in the capital and across the country since the conflict started. Reports of deaths from inside Iran state that a high number of non-combatants may have been lost their lives in the attacks.

Amid continuing hostilities, monitoring of space-based data will persist to document the changing military landscape.