🔗 Share this article

A wave of American and Israeli attacks has according to analysis eliminated or harmed a minimum of eleven warships belonging to Iran since Saturday, new aerial photos reveal, with launch facilities and nuclear sites also sustaining hits.

Pictures of the southerly Konarak naval naval base and the Bandar Abbas port facility, which sits on the Strait of Hormuz and is home to the headquarters of the Iranian navy, reveal plumes of smoke rising from several ships on Monday and Tuesday.

Maritime Forces Sustained Major Losses

Included in the ships sunk was the IRINS Makran, Iran's most sizable ship which had been used as a drone carrier. Aerial imagery displayed black smoke rising from the vessel which had been docked at the Bandar Abbas base.

Intelligence evaluations suggest that at least five ships at the port were "damaged or eliminated". Pictures of the southern end of the harbor reveal smoke emanating from the Makran, while another pair of ships seem to be damaged, with a single one clearly on fire.

Over at the Konarak base, photos show numerous harmed ships, with expert review identifying damage to six vessels. Pictures from the start of the week also show that multiple structures at the base have been demolished.

"For decades the Iran's leadership has threatened global maritime traffic," an American commander declared. "Now, there is not one vessel from Iran at sea in the Persian Gulf, Hormuz Strait or Gulf of Oman, and we will not stop."

A number of ships allegedly sunk may have been concealed in aerial photos by weather conditions or battle damage, or targeted offshore, and have not been independently verified. Other accounts suggested that a ship from Iran was foundering off the coast of Sri Lanka's waters, resulting in a rescue operation.

Missile Bases and Nuclear Facilities Attacked

Eliminating Tehran's launch facilities and the prevention of enrichment activities were stated as further objectives of the offensive. Aerial imagery also depicted strikes on the southerly Khorgu and northwestern Tabriz missile facilities, and at the Konarak base, where rocket warehouses and fortifications were hit.

At the Choqa Balk-e drone UAV facility west of the city of Kermanshah, significant damage was seen to sheds, underground facilities and unmanned aircraft systems.

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

Perhaps most notably, the most recent series of attacks have apparently targeted sites at the Natanz complex – considered at the heart of Iran's enrichment efforts. A global monitoring agency said that the affected buildings were used for access to the facility's underground enrichment facility and that "no release of radioactive material" was anticipated.

Wider Consequences and Analysis

Observers stated that the strikes appeared to have "largely neutralized" the Iranian navy's capacity to carry out traditional warfare using its biggest warships. But, it was emphasised that Iran retains the ability to launch unconventional attacks at sea through the use of unmanned aerial vehicles, midget subs and its so-called "ghost fleet" of tankers.

The total scale of the destruction caused to Iranian military infrastructure remains unclear, with hostilities reportedly ongoing. Imagery also shows extensive destruction to the command center of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in the capital Tehran.

A large number of public facilities also appear to have been hit in the capital city and across the country since the hostilities escalated. Toll estimates from inside Iran suggest that a high number of non-combatants may have been killed in the attacks.

As the situation develops, monitoring of aerial photographs will carry on to track the changing scope of damage.