🔗 Share this article

A wave of joint strikes has according to analysis eliminated or harmed a minimum of eleven Iranian naval vessels since Saturday, freshly analyzed satellite images reveal, with rocket sites and nuclear sites also coming under fire.

Images of the southerly Konarak military port and the Bandar Abbas port installation, which is located on the Strait of Hormuz and contains the headquarters of the Iranian navy, reveal smoke billowing from a number of ships on the start of the week.

Maritime Assets Sustained Major Damage

Included in the ships sunk was the IRINS Makran, Iran's biggest warship which had been used as a unmanned aerial vehicle platform. Satellite images displayed black smoke pouring from the ship which had been moored at the Bandar Abbas base.

Analytical assessments suggest that no fewer than five ships at the port were "hit or sunk". Pictures of the south end of the port depict smoke emanating from the IRINS Makran, while additional vessels seem to be damaged, with one of them seen burning.

At Konarak, photos reveal numerous harmed vessels, with analysis pointing to damage to a half-dozen warships. Images from Monday also show that several buildings at the installation have been leveled.

"For decades the Iran's leadership has threatened global maritime traffic," the head of US Central Command declared. "Now, there is not a single Iranian ship at sea in the Arabian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz or Gulf of Oman, and we will continue."

A number of ships allegedly destroyed may have been obscured in aerial photos by cloud or smoke, or targeted offshore, and have yet to be fully confirmed. Separate reports indicated that a ship from Iran was going down near Sri Lanka's waters, resulting in a search and rescue mission.

Rocket Bases and Nuclear Locations Attacked

The destruction of Iran's rocket sites and the stopping enrichment activities were listed as further goals of the air campaign. Aerial imagery also showed damage at the southerly Khorgu and north-western Tabriz facilities, and at the Konarak base, where rocket warehouses and bunkers were hit.

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

Destruction was also seen at a radar site at the Zahedan airbase in eastern Iran, close to the frontier with neighboring nations.

Significantly, the most recent series of attacks have apparently focused on installations at the Natanz complex – long said to be at the core of the country's enrichment efforts. An international watchdog said that the damaged buildings were used for entry to the site's underground nuclear plant and that "no release of radioactive material" was likely.

Wider Fallout and Analysis

Observers indicated that the offensive appeared to have "greatly reduced" the Iranian navy's ability to conduct standard operations using its most significant vessels. Nevertheless, it was noted that Tehran retains the option to launch unconventional attacks at sea through the use of drones, small submarines and its so-called "clandestine network" of tankers.

The overall scope of the destruction caused to Iran's defense facilities has yet to be fully assessed, with attacks reportedly ongoing. Pictures also reveals widespread destruction to the main offices of the the IRGC in the city of Tehran.

A significant number of non-military structures also seem to have been hit in the capital city and across Iran after the conflict began. Reports of deaths from inside Iran state that many hundreds of non-combatants may have been fatally injured in the strikes.

Amid continuing hostilities, review of space-based data will carry on to assess the changing battlefield picture.