Satellite Photographs Depict Iran's Naval Forces and Atomic Locations Struck by Joint US and Israeli Attacks.

A wave of American and Israeli attacks has allegedly sunk or crippled no fewer than 11 warships belonging to Iran since Saturday, recently obtained aerial photos show, with launch facilities and nuclear sites also being targeted.

Pictures of the southerly Konarak naval military port and the Bandar Abbas installation, which overlooks the Strait of Hormuz and houses the main command of the Iranian navy, show smoke billowing from several vessels on recent days.

Naval Assets Sustained Major Damage

Included in the vessels destroyed was the IRINS Makran, the country's biggest warship which had functioned as a unmanned aerial vehicle platform. Satellite images showed black smoke pouring from the vessel which had been moored at the Bandar Abbas naval base.

Analytical reports indicate that no fewer than five ships at the port were "damaged or eliminated". Imagery of the south end of the port depict smoke emanating from the Makran, while two other vessels appear to be impacted, with one seen burning.

Over at the Konarak base, images display multiple damaged ships, with intelligence reports identifying strikes against six ships. Pictures taken on Monday also demonstrate that several structures at the base have been leveled.

"For many years the Tehran government has disrupted global maritime traffic," the head of US Central Command stated. "Now, there is no Iranian vessel underway in the Persian Gulf, Hormuz Strait or Sea of Oman, and we will not stop."

A number of vessels reportedly sunk may have been obscured in aerial photos by cloud or smoke, or hit in open waters, and have yet to be fully confirmed. Additional information indicated that a ship from Iran was going down off the coast of Sri Lankan waters, leading to a rescue operation.

Rocket Sites and Nuclear Facilities Hit

Eliminating Iran's rocket sites and the prevention of atomic bomb programs were stated as additional goals of the offensive. Satellite images also revealed strikes on the southerly Khorgu base and north-western Tabriz missile facilities, and at the Konarak base, where weapons bunkers and fortifications were hit.

Over at the Choqa Balk-e drone base to the west of the city of Kermanshah, extensive damage was observed to warehouses, underground facilities and drone launch equipment.

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

Significantly, the latest wave of strikes have apparently focused on facilities at Natanz – long said to be at the center of Iran's enrichment efforts. A global monitoring agency said that the damaged structures were used for access to the facility's underground nuclear plant and that "no radiological consequence" was likely.

Wider Consequences and Analysis

Observers indicated that the strikes appeared to have "largely neutralized" the Iranian navy's capability to carry out standard operations using its most significant vessels. However, it was stressed that Iran maintains the ability to launch unconventional attacks at sea through the use of drones, midget subs and its so-called "shadow fleet" of tankers.

The full scale of the destruction caused to Iranian military facilities has yet to be fully assessed, with strikes reportedly ongoing. Imagery also reveals considerable destruction to the headquarters of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in the capital Tehran.

A significant number of non-military structures also are reported to have been hit in the capital city and across Iran since the hostilities started. Casualty figures from ground sources indicate that hundreds of non-combatants may have been fatally injured in the bombardment.

Amid continuing hostilities, analysis of satellite imagery will carry on to document the changing battlefield picture.

Paul Torres
Paul Torres

Lena Weber is a political scientist and journalist with over a decade of experience in media analysis and investigative reporting.