🔗 Share this article Space-Based Images Indicate Iran's Navy and Nuclear Sites Hit by Joint US and Israeli Strikes. A series of American and Israeli airstrikes has allegedly eliminated or harmed no fewer than eleven Iranian naval vessels starting the weekend, recently obtained aerial photos reveal, with rocket sites and nuclear sites also sustaining hits. Photographs of the southerly Konarak naval military port and the Bandar Abbas port facility, which sits on the strategic Hormuz Strait and houses the main command of the Iranian navy, show black smoke pouring from several vessels on the start of the week. Maritime Forces Sustained Major Losses Included in the targets eliminated was the Makran, Iran's biggest warship which had been used as a drone carrier. Orbital photos indicated dark plumes emanating from the ship which had been moored at the Bandar Abbas base. Analytical reports indicate that at least five ships at Bandar Abbas were "hit or sunk". Imagery of the south end of the harbor depict smoke rising from the Makran, while two other vessels appear to be harmed, with one of them visibly ablaze. At the Konarak base, images show numerous stricken ships, with expert review pointing to impacts on six vessels. Pictures taken on Monday also demonstrate that multiple facilities at the installation have been demolished. "For a long time the Tehran government has threatened global maritime traffic," a senior US military official stated. "Now, there is not a single vessel from Iran at sea in the Arabian Gulf, Hormuz Strait or Sea of Oman, and we will persist." A number of ships allegedly sunk may have been obscured in satellite images by haze or plumes, or hit in open waters, and have not been independently verified. Additional information indicated that a ship from Iran was going down off the coast of Sri Lanka's territorial waters, prompting a search and rescue mission. Missile Bases and Atomic Locations Targeted Neutralizing Iran's rocket sites and the hindering of nuclear weapons development were listed as other goals of the air campaign. Aerial imagery also revealed damage at the southern Khorgu and north-western Tabriz missile missile bases, and at the Konarak air air base, where rocket warehouses and bunkers were targeted. At the Choqa Balk-e drone unmanned aircraft site to the west of the city of Kermanshah, extensive damage was observed to storage buildings, underground facilities and drone launch equipment. Damage was also seen at a surveillance station at the Zahedan airbase in eastern parts of the country, near the border with Afghanistan and Pakistan. Of particular note, the latest wave of attacks have apparently targeted installations at the Natanz complex – considered at the heart of Iran's atomic program. An international watchdog said that the affected structures were used for entry to the facility's below-ground enrichment facility and that "no nuclear fallout" was expected. Wider Consequences and Analysis Defense experts stated that the offensive appeared to have "greatly reduced" the Iran's naval ability to carry out standard operations using its most significant warships. Nevertheless, it was stressed that Iran retains the ability to launch unconventional attacks at sea through the use of drones, mini-submarines and its so-called "ghost fleet" of oil ships. The full scale of the destruction caused to Iranian military facilities has yet to be fully assessed, with hostilities reportedly ongoing. Photos also shows considerable damage to the command center of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in the capital Tehran. A large number of public facilities also appear to have been struck in the capital and across the country since the fighting began. Casualty figures from local officials state that a high number of civilians may have been lost their lives in the strikes. Amid continuing hostilities, monitoring of space-based data will continue to assess the changing scope of damage.