(QOM, IRAN) – The United States and its allies have launched a series of strikes on Iranian military targets while Iran has retaliated with attacks on shipping in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, raising concerns about global energy supplies and regional security.
One of the most powerful conventional weapons in the US arsenal, the GBU 57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator, was reportedly used in strikes targeting facilities in the religious city of Qom, including compounds associated with senior Iranian clerical leadership. The weapon, weighing about 12 tonnes, is the largest non nuclear bomb currently deployed by any military.
Satellite imagery released after the attacks showed extensive damage at several Iranian military installations. At the Dalagan 2 facility within the Bachin military complex, before and after images dated November 14, March 6 and March 11 revealed large holes in rooftops and several structures reduced to rubble.
Separate airstrikes destroyed several ageing aircraft operated by Iran. These included a P 3 Orion maritime patrol aircraft supplied to Iran before the 1979 revolution. Analysts say the aircraft had been used for submarine detection and maritime reconnaissance. A number of other aircraft were also destroyed, including a transport aircraft and other older platforms.
The United States has also deployed a new low cost unmanned system known as LUCAS, the Low Cost Uncrewed Combat Attack System. The drone is designed to be mass produced and resembles the Iranian Shahed type loitering munition. Footage released from the conflict shows LUCAS drones striking Iranian militia positions in northern Iraq.
While air operations have intensified, Iran has expanded its campaign against maritime shipping. Over a period of three days, Iranian forces reportedly struck 18 civilian merchant vessels including oil tankers and cargo ships in the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz.
Among the incidents was the detonation of the tanker Safesea Vishnu, owned by Safesea Group, an Indian company based in the United States. Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps personnel filmed the explosion from a fast attack boat positioned about 200 metres away.
Other incidents involved a Malta flagged Greek owned tanker of about 50,000 tonnes and a Marshall Islands flagged tanker owned by a US company of about 74,000 tonnes. Both vessels were reported on fire while anchored near Iraqi waters after being hit by suspected Iranian unmanned surface vessels.
According to shipping reports, the attacks involved maritime drones, aerial drones and possibly naval mines. In several cases crews were rescued, although some casualties were reported among personnel trapped in engine rooms.
Photographs taken by crew members from the Thai cargo vessel Mayuree Naree showed a large breach in the ship’s hull after the attack. Analysts say the location of the damage close to the waterline suggests it may have been caused by a sea drone rather than an aerial strike.
A map of incidents indicates that Iranian attacks have taken place both inside and outside the Strait of Hormuz, including near Kuwait, Oman and Saudi Arabia. Four of the affected vessels were reportedly bound for India.
The disruption has raised concerns over global oil markets. Analysts say that even attacks on shipments bound for Asia can affect global supply and increase prices for consumers in Europe and North America.
China could also be affected. Around 35 percent of Chinese energy imports pass through the Strait of Hormuz, accounting for roughly 6 to 7 percent of its total energy consumption. Iranian oil makes up about 12 percent of China’s oil imports.
Iran has also carried out retaliatory strikes against military targets. A French military base in Erbil in the Kurdistan region of Iraq was reportedly hit by several Iranian drones.
Iranian forces have also targeted US MQ 9 Reaper drones. Eleven of the drones, each costing about 30 million dollars, have reportedly been destroyed during the conflict, representing losses exceeding 330 million dollars.
Iran has used a loitering missile system that combines features of a surface to air missile and a cruise missile, allowing it to track and destroy airborne targets.
In response to the spread of Iranian drone attacks, Ukraine has sent specialised drone interception teams to assist Gulf states. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed that three teams have been deployed to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
Ukrainian teams are providing interceptor drones capable of destroying Shahed type drones. The systems are relatively inexpensive and can be deployed quickly in large numbers.
The conflict has also resulted in an accident involving US aircraft. US Central Command confirmed that a KC 135 Stratotanker crashed in western Iraq during Operation Epic Fury after an incident during aerial refuelling. A second aircraft involved in the incident managed to land safely.
Meanwhile, Ukraine continues to strike Russian military targets in occupied territories. On March 11 Ukrainian forces hit a Russian missile ammunition depot near Mariupol in occupied Ukraine.
Drone footage showed more than ten Ukrainian drones striking buildings within the depot in rapid succession, triggering multiple explosions.
Russian forces attempted to move equipment from the area. However Ukrainian drones later struck vehicles near Mangush, about 8 kilometres west of the original site, destroying five vehicles and causing casualties.
Ukraine has also targeted Russian energy infrastructure. A major oil transshipment terminal at Tikhoretsk in Russia’s Krasnodar region was struck in a drone attack, disrupting operations at the facility.
Further strikes included the use of British supplied Storm Shadow missiles against Russian military targets, including facilities near Donetsk airport and an electronics plant in Bryansk.
On the southern front in Zaporizhzhia, Ukrainian forces are experimenting with new tactics that involve deploying large swarms of drones ahead of advancing ground units. Russian military bloggers describe the tactic as similar to a First World War creeping barrage, with hundreds of drones operating across a narrow section of the front line before ground troops move forward.
Ukrainian forces say the method allows them to suppress Russian defences while reducing risks to their own troops.
