🔗 Share this article Space-Based Photographs Depict Iranian Naval Forces and Nuclear Sites Targeted by Joint US and Israeli Strikes. Multiple joint airstrikes has allegedly sunk or crippled at least eleven warships belonging to Iran since Saturday, recently obtained orbital imagery demonstrate, with rocket sites and nuclear sites also coming under fire. Photographs of the southerly Konarak naval military port and the Bandar Abbas installation, which is located on the Strait of Hormuz and is home to the main command of the Iranian navy, depict plumes of smoke rising from several warships on the start of the week. Naval Assets Sustained Significant Losses Among the vessels destroyed was the Makran, Iran's largest naval vessel which had functioned as a drone carrier. Orbital photos showed thick smoke pouring from the ship which had been docked at the Bandar Abbas base. Analytical reports suggest that no fewer than five vessels at Bandar Abbas were "hit or sunk". Pictures of the southern part of the harbor depict smoke rising from the Makran, while another pair of vessels seem to be damaged, with one visibly ablaze. At the Konarak base, images display multiple harmed ships, with analysis identifying impacts on a half-dozen warships. Images from the start of the week also show that a number of structures at the installation have been leveled. "For a long time the Iranian regime has disrupted global maritime traffic," a senior US military official stated. "Today, there is no Iranian vessel operational in the Persian Gulf, Hormuz Strait or Sea of Oman, and we will persist." A number of vessels allegedly destroyed may have been concealed in aerial photos by weather conditions or battle damage, or targeted offshore, and have not been independently verified. Separate reports indicated that a ship from Iran was foundering near Sri Lankan territorial waters, prompting a search and rescue mission. Rocket Bases and Nuclear Locations Attacked Eliminating Iranian missile bases and the hindering of atomic bomb programs were listed as further objectives of the military strikes. Satellite images also depicted strikes on the southerly Khorgu base and north-western Tabriz missile missile bases, and at the Konarak air air base, where rocket warehouses and bunkers were targeted. Over at the Choqa Balk-e unmanned aircraft site to the west of the city of Kermanshah, extensive damage was observed to storage buildings, underground facilities and unmanned aircraft systems. Destruction was also observed at a surveillance station at the Zahedan military airport in eastern Iran, close to the border with Afghanistan and Pakistan. Perhaps most notably, the new round of strikes have apparently hit installations at the Natanz complex – considered at the center of the country's atomic program. The UN's atomic energy body commented that the damaged buildings were used for entry to the facility's below-ground nuclear plant and that "no radiological consequence" was expected. Broader Fallout and Assessment Observers suggested that the strikes appeared to have "greatly reduced" the Iran's naval ability to conduct standard operations using its biggest vessels. Nevertheless, it was noted that Tehran maintains the ability to launch irregular strikes at sea through the use of drones, midget subs and its so-called "clandestine network" of oil ships. The overall scope of the damage caused to Iranian military facilities remains unclear, with hostilities reportedly ongoing. Pictures also indicates considerable damage to the command center of the the IRGC in the capital Tehran. A large number of non-military structures also seem to have been hit in the capital city and throughout the country since the conflict began. Toll estimates from ground sources indicate that hundreds of civilians may have been killed in the attacks. With the conflict ongoing, analysis of aerial photographs will continue to document the unfolding battlefield picture.