Satellite Imagery Show Iranian Navy and Nuclear Sites Targeted by US-Israeli Airstrikes.

A wave of US and Israeli attacks has reportedly eliminated or harmed at least 11 warships belonging to Iran starting the weekend, freshly analyzed orbital imagery reveal, with launch facilities and enrichment plants also coming under fire.

Images of the southerly Konarak naval naval base and the Bandar Abbas port installation, which is located on the strategic Hormuz Strait and houses the main command of the Iran's naval force, show smoke billowing from multiple vessels on recent days.

Naval Assets Sustained Significant Damage

Among the vessels destroyed was the IRINS Makran, Iran's biggest warship which had been used as a unmanned aerial vehicle platform. Aerial imagery showed thick smoke emanating from the ship which had been docked at the Bandar Abbas naval base.

Intelligence reports indicate that at least five vessels at Bandar Abbas were "struck or destroyed". Photos of the southern end of the port depict smoke rising from the Makran, while additional vessels are visibly harmed, with one of them clearly on fire.

At Konarak, photos reveal numerous damaged vessels, with intelligence reports pointing to damage to six vessels. Images from Monday also indicate that a number of structures at the base have been demolished.

"For decades the Tehran government has disrupted commercial vessels," a senior US military official stated. "At present, there is not one Iranian ship at sea in the Arabian Gulf, Hormuz Strait or Sea of Oman, and we will not stop."

A number of ships reportedly sunk may have been concealed in satellite images by haze or plumes, or targeted offshore, and have not been independently verified. Additional information stated that one Iranian ship was foundering off the coast of Sri Lankan waters, leading to a rescue operation.

Missile Sites and Nuclear Facilities Hit

The destruction of Iranian missile bases and the prevention of atomic bomb programs were stated as further objectives of the air campaign. Satellite images also showed strikes on the southern Khorgu and northwestern Tabriz facilities, and at the Konarak air base, where weapons bunkers and fortifications were hit.

At the Choqa Balk-e unmanned aircraft site to the west of Kermanshah, extensive damage was observed to storage buildings, underground facilities and drone launch equipment.

Damage was also noted at a radar site at the Zahedan airbase airbase in eastern Iran, near the frontier with Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Perhaps most notably, the new round of strikes have apparently focused on sites at the Natanz complex – widely believed to be at the center of Iran's nuclear programme. A global monitoring agency said that the affected buildings were used for entry to the facility's below-ground nuclear plant and that "no release of radioactive material" was likely.

Broader Fallout and Analysis

Military analysts indicated that the strikes appeared to have "greatly reduced" the Iran's naval capability to carry out traditional warfare using its largest vessels. Nevertheless, it was emphasised that Tehran still has the option to launch unconventional attacks at sea through the use of unmanned aerial vehicles, midget subs and its so-called "ghost fleet" of tankers.

The overall extent of the damage caused to Iranian military facilities has yet to be fully assessed, with attacks said to be ongoing. Imagery also reveals considerable damage to the command center of the the IRGC in the capital Tehran.

Numerous of non-military structures also appear to have been struck in the capital city and across Iran since the conflict started. Reports of deaths from local officials indicate that a high number of civilians may have been lost their lives in the attacks.

Amid continuing hostilities, analysis of satellite imagery will carry on to track the unfolding scope of damage.

Tommy Aguirre
Tommy Aguirre

Lena Weber is a seasoned journalist and blogger based in Berlin, focusing on German politics and social trends with a passion for storytelling.