🔗 Share this article

Multiple US and Israeli attacks has according to analysis sunk or crippled a minimum of eleven Iran's navy ships starting Saturday, freshly analyzed aerial photos demonstrate, with launch facilities and atomic facilities also sustaining hits.

Images of the southerly Konarak military port and the Bandar Abbas installation, which is located on the strategic Hormuz Strait and contains the headquarters of the Iranian navy, show black smoke pouring from multiple warships on the start of the week.

Maritime Fleet Incurred Substantial Damage

Included in the vessels destroyed was the IRINS Makran, the country's most sizable ship which had been used as a unmanned aerial vehicle platform. Aerial imagery showed dark plumes rising from the ship which had been docked at the Bandar Abbas base.

Analytical evaluations suggest that at least five ships at Bandar Abbas were "hit or sunk". Pictures of the southern part of the port reveal plumes ascending from the IRINS Makran, while another pair of vessels are visibly damaged, with one of them clearly on fire.

At Konarak, photos reveal several stricken ships, with expert review identifying damage to a half-dozen warships. Pictures from Monday also demonstrate that a number of structures at the base have been demolished.

"For a long time the Tehran government has threatened international shipping," the head of US Central Command declared. "Today, there is no Iranian vessel at sea in the Persian Gulf, Hormuz Strait or Sea of Oman, and we will continue."

A number of vessels reportedly destroyed may have been concealed in aerial photos by cloud or smoke, or targeted offshore, and have not been conclusively proven. Other accounts stated that an Iranian vessel was foundering near Sri Lanka's waters, leading to a rescue operation.

Rocket Sites and Atomic Locations Targeted

The destruction of Iranian missile bases and the prevention of nuclear weapons development were listed as other aims of the air campaign. Aerial imagery also depicted damage at the southerly Khorgu and northwestern Tabriz facilities, and at the Konarak air air base, where rocket warehouses and fortifications were struck.

Over at the Choqa Balk-e UAV facility to the west of the city of Kermanshah, extensive destruction was observed to storage buildings, bunkers and drone launch equipment.

Damage was also seen at a radar installation at the Zahedan airbase military airport in eastern Iran, close to the border with Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Significantly, the new round of attacks have reportedly focused on sites at the Natanz complex – widely believed to be at the core of the country's atomic program. The UN's atomic energy body said that the affected buildings were used for entry to the site's below-ground enrichment facility and that "no release of radioactive material" was likely.

Wider Fallout and Analysis

Military analysts indicated that the offensive appeared to have "largely neutralized" the Iran's naval capability to sustain traditional warfare using its biggest warships. Nevertheless, it was emphasised that Tehran retains the ability to launch irregular strikes at sea through the use of unmanned aerial vehicles, mini-submarines and its so-called "shadow fleet" of tankers.

The total extent of the destruction caused to Iranian military infrastructure has yet to be fully assessed, with strikes said to be persisting. Pictures also indicates extensive damage to the command center of the the IRGC in the city of Tehran.

A large number of civilian buildings also appear to have been hit in the capital city and across the country after the conflict started. Reports of deaths from local officials indicate that a high number of non-combatants may have been killed in the bombardment.

Amid continuing hostilities, analysis of space-based data will persist to track the evolving military landscape.