US and Israeli Strikes Damage Iranian Naval Vessels and Facilities
A series of US and Israeli military strikes since Saturday have destroyed or damaged at least 11 Iranian naval vessels, according to new satellite images reviewed by BBC Verify. In addition to naval targets, missile bases and nuclear sites have also been struck during the attacks.
Satellite imagery of the southern Konarak naval base and the Bandar Abbas facility, located on the Strait of Hormuz and home to the Iranian navy headquarters, shows smoke rising from multiple ships on Monday and Tuesday.
US President Donald Trump stated on Monday that the United States was "annihilating" the Iranian navy, identifying the destruction of the naval force as one of America's three primary objectives. US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed that a US submarine had launched an attack on an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean on Wednesday.
Among the vessels destroyed was the IRINS Makran, Iran's largest naval ship, which had functioned as a drone carrier. Satellite images revealed black smoke emanating from the ship while it was docked at the Bandar Abbas base.
Maritime security firm Vanguard reported that the IRIS Bayandor, IRIS Naghdi, and IRIS Jamaran were also destroyed in the strikes. The firm further claimed that the IRIS Shahid Bagheri, a state-of-the-art drone carrier launched by Iran last year, had been sunk; however, BBC Verify could not independently confirm this claim.
Analysts from the intelligence firm MAIAR indicated that at least five ships at Bandar Abbas were "hit or sunk." Satellite images of the southern port area show smoke rising from the Makran, with two additional vessels appearing damaged, one visibly on fire.
At the Konarak naval base, images reveal multiple damaged vessels. MAIAR informed BBC Verify that damage was identified on six vessels at this location.
The images taken on Monday also show that several buildings at the Konarak base have been demolished.
The head of US Central Command (Centcom), which supervises American military operations in the Middle East, stated that 17 Iranian vessels, including the navy's "most operational" submarine, have been destroyed.
"For decades the Iranian regime has harassed international shipping," Adm Brad Cooper said in a video posted to X. "Today, there is not a single Iranian vessel underway in the Arabian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz or Gulf of Oman, and we will not stop."
Some vessels reportedly destroyed may have been obscured in satellite images by cloud cover or smoke, or struck at sea, and have not been independently verified by BBC Verify.
Sri Lankan officials reported on Wednesday that one Iranian ship was sinking near their waters, prompting a rescue operation. Approximately 140 people are currently missing. US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth later confirmed that a US submarine had struck an Iranian ship with a torpedo in the Indian Ocean.
Vice-Admiral Mark Mellett, former head of the Irish military, told BBC Verify that the US and Israeli attacks appear to have "largely neutralised for now or at least suppressed" the Iranian navy's capacity to conduct conventional attacks using its largest warships.
"But he emphasised that Iran retains the ability to launch unconventional attacks at sea through the use of drones, mini-submarines and shadow fleet vessels - a network of tankers sailing under obscured ownership."
MAIAR analysts also informed BBC Verify that Tehran might resort to smaller, fast-attack vessels equipped with anti-ship missiles in the coming days as its largest warships continue to be targeted by US and Israeli strikes.
Iran also maintains the capability to disrupt commercial shipping. Mellett noted that Iran could deploy mines in critical shipping lanes in the Strait of Hormuz or carry out drone attacks on tankers and key ports.
Damage to Missile Sites and Nuclear Facilities
President Trump identified the destruction of Iranian missile bases and the prevention of nuclear weapons development as additional objectives of the US air campaign.
In a statement on Tuesday night, Adm Cooper reported that hundreds of air defence sites, ballistic missiles, and drones had been destroyed by US strikes. Satellite images revealed damage at the southern Khorgu and north-western Tabriz missile bases. At the Konarak air base, missile storage facilities and bunkers were also hit.
At the Choqa Balk-e drone base west of Kermanshah, extensive damage was observed to storage buildings, bunkers, and drone launch equipment.
Destruction was also evident at a radar installation at the Zahedan airbase in eastern Iran, near the border with Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Satellite images show that the recent wave of strikes targeted facilities at Natanz, a site long associated with Iran's nuclear programme and previously targeted by the US last year.
Following last summer's attacks, Iran denied President Trump's claims that the US had "obliterated" the nuclear sites.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) stated that the buildings damaged were used for pedestrian and vehicular access to the site's underground enrichment facility and that "no radiological consequence" was expected from the damage.
The overall extent of damage to Iranian military facilities remains unclear, with strikes continuing on Tuesday night and Israeli attacks targeting what they described as "security headquarters" in Tehran.
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) noted that the "decrease in Iranian missile attacks against Israel and the UAE strongly suggests that the effort to destroy ballistic missile launchers has had considerable success."
Imagery shows extensive damage to the headquarters of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Intelligence firm Vantor captured images on 3 March showing damage to at least six structures. Damage was also observed at the National Defence University and the Intelligence Ministry.
Gen Joseph Vettel, former head of Centcom, told the BBC that many strikes targeted Iran's "internal security apparatus" aiming to degrade "the ability of the regime to control the population."
A significant number of civilian buildings have also been affected in Tehran and across Iran since the conflict began on 28 February. Iranian officials reported that at least 160 people, including children, were killed after a school in Minab in southern Iran was hit.
The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) reports that 1,097 civilians have been reported killed since Saturday.
BBC Verify will continue to monitor satellite imagery as the situation evolves.
Additional reporting by Thomas Spencer.
