🔗 Share this article

Multiple US and Israeli strikes has reportedly eliminated or harmed no fewer than eleven Iran's navy ships since Saturday, recently obtained orbital imagery reveal, with rocket sites and nuclear sites also sustaining hits.

Pictures of the southern Konarak military port and the Bandar Abbas installation, which overlooks the strategic Hormuz Strait and is home to the headquarters of the Iran's naval force, depict plumes of smoke rising from several warships on the start of the week.

Naval Assets Sustained Major Losses

Among the targets eliminated was the IRINS Makran, Iran's biggest warship which had been used as a drone carrier. Satellite images displayed dark plumes rising from the vessel which had been moored at the Bandar Abbas base.

Intelligence reports state that no fewer than five ships at Bandar Abbas were "struck or destroyed". Photos of the south end of the harbor reveal plumes ascending from the IRINS Makran, while two other ships are visibly impacted, with a single one visibly ablaze.

Over at the Konarak base, images show numerous harmed ships, with intelligence reports identifying impacts on six vessels. Pictures taken on Monday also demonstrate that multiple buildings at the installation have been destroyed.

"For decades the Iranian regime has harassed global maritime traffic," the head of US Central Command said. "Now, there is no Iranian vessel underway in the Arabian Gulf, Hormuz Strait or Gulf of Oman, and we will persist."

Some vessels reportedly destroyed may have been concealed in aerial photos by weather conditions or battle damage, or struck at sea, and have yet to be fully confirmed. Other accounts stated that an Iranian vessel was going down off the coast of Sri Lankan waters, leading to a rescue operation.

Missile Sites and Atomic Locations Hit

Neutralizing Iran's rocket sites and the prevention of atomic bomb programs were declared as further aims of the offensive. Aerial imagery also revealed impacts against the southern Khorgu base and north-western Tabriz missile facilities, and at the Konarak air base, where missile storage facilities and bunkers were targeted.

At the Choqa Balk-e drone unmanned aircraft site to the west of Kermanshah, widespread destruction was identified to warehouses, underground facilities and drone launch equipment.

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

Of particular note, the most recent series of strikes have reportedly hit facilities at Natanz – considered at the heart of Iran's atomic program. An international watchdog stated that the affected buildings were used for entry to the facility's underground nuclear plant and that "no nuclear fallout" was likely.

Broader Fallout and Assessment

Defense experts suggested that the attacks appeared to have "greatly reduced" the Iranian navy's ability to sustain standard operations using its biggest vessels. Nevertheless, it was emphasised that Iran still has the option to launch irregular strikes at sea through the use of unmanned aerial vehicles, small submarines and its so-called "clandestine network" of tankers.

The full scale of the destruction caused to Iran's defense infrastructure has yet to be fully assessed, with strikes said to be persisting. Imagery also shows extensive destruction to the main offices of the Iran's Revolutionary Guards in the capital Tehran.

A significant number of non-military structures also are reported to have been hit in the capital and throughout Iran after the conflict began. Casualty figures from inside Iran indicate that many hundreds of civilians may have been killed in the attacks.

As the situation develops, monitoring of space-based data will carry on to assess the changing military landscape.