🔗 Share this article Aerial Imagery Reveal Iran's Naval Forces and Atomic Facilities Struck by Joint US and Israeli Strikes. Multiple American and Israeli attacks has allegedly destroyed or damaged a minimum of 11 Iranian naval vessels starting the weekend, freshly analyzed orbital imagery demonstrate, with launch facilities and enrichment plants also sustaining hits. Photographs of the southern Konarak naval military port and the Bandar Abbas installation, which sits on the strategic Hormuz Strait and is home to the headquarters of the Iran's naval force, depict smoke billowing from multiple vessels on recent days. Naval Forces Incurred Significant Damage Among the targets eliminated was the Makran, the country's biggest warship which had served as a drone carrier. Orbital photos showed black smoke rising from the ship which had been stationed at the Bandar Abbas naval base. Intelligence reports indicate that no fewer than five ships at the port were "struck or destroyed". Photos of the southern part of the harbor depict smoke emanating from the Makran, while additional ships are visibly impacted, with one of them visibly ablaze. At Konarak, images show numerous stricken vessels, with intelligence reports pointing to impacts on six ships. Images taken on Monday also indicate that multiple facilities at the base have been demolished. "For a long time the Iranian regime has threatened commercial vessels," an American commander stated. "At present, there is not a single Iranian ship at sea in the Persian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz or Gulf of Oman, and we will not stop." A number of ships reportedly sunk may have been concealed in satellite images by cloud or smoke, or struck at sea, and have not been conclusively proven. Separate reports stated that one Iranian ship was foundering near Sri Lanka's waters, resulting in a rescue operation. Missile Bases and Nuclear Locations Targeted Eliminating Iranian missile bases and the hindering of enrichment activities were declared as further objectives of the air campaign. Satellite images also showed impacts against the southerly Khorgu and northwestern Tabriz missile facilities, and at the Konarak air air base, where rocket warehouses and fortifications were targeted. At the Choqa Balk-e drone unmanned aircraft site west of Kermanshah, significant damage was identified to storage buildings, underground facilities and UAV launching apparatus. Impact was also seen at a radar installation at the Zahedan airbase in eastern Iran, near the border with neighboring nations. Of particular note, the most recent series of strikes have apparently targeted sites at the Natanz complex – long said to be at the heart of Iran's atomic program. An international watchdog stated that the affected structures were used for access to the site's underground enrichment facility and that "no nuclear fallout" was anticipated. Wider Consequences and Analysis Observers indicated that the attacks appeared to have "significantly degraded" the Iran's naval capability to sustain conventional attacks using its biggest vessels. However, it was noted that Iran maintains the ability to launch asymmetric warfare at sea through the use of unmanned aerial vehicles, small submarines and its so-called "ghost fleet" of tankers. The full extent of the destruction caused to Iranian military facilities remains unclear, with strikes said to be persisting. Imagery also reveals considerable damage to the headquarters of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in the capital Tehran. Numerous of non-military structures also seem to have been hit in the capital city and throughout the country since the conflict started. Reports of deaths from local officials suggest that a high number of civilians may have been fatally injured in the attacks. Amid continuing hostilities, monitoring of satellite imagery will carry on to assess the evolving battlefield picture.