Space-Based Imagery Reveal Iranian Naval Forces and Atomic Sites Struck by American and Israeli Military Action.

A series of US and Israeli attacks has reportedly sunk or crippled a minimum of 11 Iran's navy ships starting the weekend, new orbital imagery reveal, with rocket sites and atomic facilities also coming under fire.

Pictures of the southerly Konarak naval naval base and the Bandar Abbas port installation, which sits on the strategic Hormuz Strait and contains the headquarters of the Iran's naval force, show black smoke pouring from multiple ships on recent days.

Naval Assets Incurred Major Damage

Included in the ships sunk was the Makran, the country's largest naval vessel which had been used as a drone carrier. Satellite images showed thick smoke pouring from the vessel which had been stationed at the Bandar Abbas naval base.

Analytical assessments indicate that at least five vessels at Bandar Abbas were "hit or sunk". Imagery of the southern end of the harbor depict plumes ascending from the Makran, while additional vessels are visibly damaged, with one of them visibly ablaze.

Over at the Konarak base, images reveal numerous harmed vessels, with analysis identifying damage to six vessels. Pictures taken on the start of the week also demonstrate that a number of facilities at the installation have been destroyed.

"For decades the Tehran government has disrupted international shipping," an American commander said. "Now, there is not one vessel from Iran underway in the Persian Gulf, Hormuz Strait or Gulf of Oman, and we will continue."

A number of ships allegedly destroyed may have been obscured in aerial photos by haze or plumes, or targeted offshore, and have not been conclusively proven. Additional information indicated that an Iranian vessel was sinking off the coast of Sri Lanka's territorial waters, resulting in a rescue operation.

Rocket Bases and Atomic Locations Targeted

Neutralizing Iran's rocket sites and the prevention of atomic bomb programs were declared as other goals of the military strikes. Satellite images also revealed strikes on the southerly Khorgu base and northwestern Tabriz missile missile bases, and at the Konarak air base, where rocket warehouses and bunkers were struck.

Over at the Choqa Balk-e drone drone base west of Kermanshah, widespread destruction was identified to warehouses, bunkers and drone launch equipment.

Damage was also observed at a radar site at the Zahedan airbase military airport in eastern parts of the country, near the border with Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Of particular note, the latest wave of strikes have apparently focused on facilities at the Natanz complex – widely believed to be at the core of Iran's enrichment efforts. The UN's atomic energy body stated that the affected buildings were used for entry to the site's below-ground nuclear plant and that "no release of radioactive material" was expected.

Wider Fallout and Analysis

Military analysts indicated that the attacks appeared to have "greatly reduced" the Iranian navy's capacity to carry out standard operations using its largest vessels. But, it was emphasised that Iran retains the capacity to launch asymmetric warfare at sea through the use of drones, midget subs and its so-called "shadow fleet" of tankers.

The total extent of the destruction caused to Iranian military facilities remains unclear, with strikes reportedly persisting. Photos also shows widespread destruction to the main offices of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in the capital Tehran.

A significant number of civilian buildings also seem to have been damaged in the capital and throughout Iran since the fighting started. Casualty figures from ground sources indicate that hundreds of non-combatants may have been fatally injured in the bombardment.

As the situation develops, monitoring of aerial photographs will carry on to assess the changing scope of damage.