Summary: U.S. and Israeli strikes have significantly degraded Iran's conventional navy, destroying several ships and key infrastructure. However, the more agile Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps navy, which specializes in asymmetric warfare using speedboats and drones, remains a persistent threat in the Strait of Hormuz. This continuing challenge complicates efforts to fully secure the vital waterway for international shipping.
Main Topics Covered:
1. The impact of recent strikes on Iran's conventional naval forces.
2. The ongoing threat posed by Iran's Revolutionary Guard navy and its asymmetric tactics.
3. The strategic importance and continued vulnerability of the Strait of Hormuz to maritime attacks.
Supported by
Iran’s Navy Is Weakened but U.S. Still Faces Challenges in Strait of Hormuz
U.S. strikes have heavily targeted Iran’s large ships and bases, but its Revolutionary Guard navy is a more nimble force.
The Iranian naval forces have suffered heavy losses in the first week of U.S. and Israeli strikes, according to a New York Times analysis of satellite data and videos. At two bases, Iran lost at least seven moored ships, along with critical naval infrastructure, and the entrance to an underground naval facility in the Strait of Hormuz was hit. But challenges remain for U.S. and Israeli forces seeking to neutralize it completely.
So far, the strikes have heavily targeted Iran’s regular navy, known as The Islamic Republic of Iran Navy, which operates conventional warships. The country also has a second navy, run by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, that specializes in asymmetric warfare.
In addition to traditional warships, some of which were destroyed this week, the Guard’s fleet includes lighter assets, such as large numbers of speedboats and uncrewed vessels that can be harder to target. The Revolutionary Guard navy is primarily responsible for securing the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf. The United States would need to degrade it further, along with other threats, to make the Strait fully navigable again.
A look at a map of the region shows the continuing challenges for U.S. forces and international energy supplies.
“The bottom line here is that the sinking of the Iranian naval vessels belonging to the regular Navy is great progress,” said Nicholas Carl of the Washington-based Critical Threats Project. “But there are still ways for Iran to threaten vessels around the Persian Gulf, especially civilian ships.”
At least 10 merchant vessels have been attacked in the Strait of Hormuz and the two bodies of water it connects, the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, according to a New York Times analysis. Most of these vessels reported being struck by “unknown projectiles,” several above the waterline, suggesting they could be naval drones or other small vessels.
Satellite images show the U.S. military targeted Revolutionary Guard and regular naval forces at key locations this week.
Island of Qeshm
Damage can be seen at a base at the Island of Qeshm in the Strait of Hormuz. The base includes an underground cove that shelters both crewed and uncrewed speedboats, including explosive-laden suicide boats, according to a report by Farzin Nadimi, a security and defense analyst specializing in Iran and the Persian Gulf.
Bandar Abbas
A large naval base at Bandar Abbas, 10 miles north of Qeshm, also suffered heavy losses. Multiple strikes show that both Iran’s navy and Revolutionary Guard vessels failed to disperse in anticipation of an attack.
Yesterday, the U.S. military struck a Guard Corps drone carrier near the base. U.S. officials said it had been hit previously, but it had continued to sail in the Bandar Abbas area without major visible damage.
On Wednesday, videos showed an attack on one of Iran’s newest vessels, a catamaran stealth missile corvette. The Revolutionary Guards have only four of the advanced combat ships, according to The Military Balance 2026, an assessment of armed forces published by the International Institute for Strategic Studies.
Konarak
The destruction at Konarak naval base shows how severely U.S. strikes have degraded Iran’s regular navy. Three combat ships sank there while anchored at the pier, and satellite imagery shows capsized or partially submerged vessels.
Konarak is a regional naval headquarters responsible for operations in waters off the country’s southeast coast. The strikes there “dealt a significant blow to the Iranian Navy’s surface fleet and immediately began reducing their presence around the Gulf of Oman,” Mr. Carl said in an email.
The destruction of the base came as the U.S. Navy’s Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group was operating near the Gulf of Oman, southeast of Konarak.
Eight buildings at the base, next to the sunken ships, were destroyed or damaged, satellite imagery showed. It also showed attacks on nearby drone and air bases.
Damage was also visible at the Jask naval base in the Gulf of Oman and at a naval base in Asaluyeh in the Persian Gulf.
Christiaan Triebert contributed reporting.
Christoph Koettl is a Times reporter on the Visual Investigations team.
Related Content
Advertisement
Meridiano
