Space-Based Pictures Indicate Iranian Naval Forces and Atomic Facilities Struck by Joint US and Israeli Attacks.

A series of American and Israeli strikes has reportedly destroyed or damaged a minimum of 11 Iran's navy ships since the weekend, new aerial photos show, with missile bases and enrichment plants also sustaining hits.

Pictures of the southerly Konarak naval base and the Bandar Abbas facility, which sits on the Strait of Hormuz and contains the headquarters of the Iranian navy, reveal smoke billowing from a number of ships on the start of the week.

Maritime Forces Sustained Substantial Damage

Included in the ships sunk was the IRINS Makran, the country's most sizable ship which had served as a unmanned aerial vehicle platform. Orbital photos displayed thick smoke rising from the ship which had been docked at the Bandar Abbas base.

Analytical assessments state that no fewer than five vessels at Bandar Abbas were "hit or sunk". Photos of the southern part of the port depict smoke rising from the Makran, while another pair of ships are visibly damaged, with one clearly on fire.

At the Konarak base, images display numerous damaged vessels, with analysis identifying strikes against a half-dozen warships. Images from Monday also indicate that several structures at the base have been leveled.

"For a long time the Iranian regime has threatened commercial vessels," the head of US Central Command stated. "Today, there is not one Iranian vessel underway in the Arabian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz or Sea of Oman, and we will continue."

Some ships allegedly sunk may have been concealed in aerial photos by haze or plumes, or hit in open waters, and have not been conclusively proven. Other accounts stated that a ship from Iran was sinking off the coast of Sri Lanka's territorial waters, prompting a rescue operation.

Missile Installations and Atomic Locations Hit

Neutralizing Tehran's launch facilities and the hindering of nuclear weapons development were listed as further objectives of the air campaign. Aerial imagery also revealed strikes on the southern Khorgu base and northwestern Tabriz missile facilities, and at the Konarak air base, where rocket warehouses and bunkers were targeted.

Over at the Choqa Balk-e drone UAV facility to the west of the city of Kermanshah, widespread destruction was observed to sheds, bunkers and UAV launching apparatus.

Damage was also observed at a surveillance station at the Zahedan airbase in eastern Iran, near the frontier with neighboring nations.

Of particular note, the latest wave of strikes have apparently targeted facilities at the Natanz complex – long said to be at the core of the country's nuclear programme. The UN's atomic energy body said that the damaged structures were used for entry to the site's underground enrichment facility and that "no release of radioactive material" was expected.

Broader Fallout and Analysis

Defense experts suggested that the attacks appeared to have "greatly reduced" the Iranian navy's capacity to sustain standard operations using its most significant warships. But, it was stressed that Iran maintains the option to launch asymmetric warfare at sea through the use of drones, midget subs and its so-called "shadow fleet" of oil ships.

The overall extent of the damage caused to Iranian military facilities remains unclear, with strikes reportedly ongoing. Photos also indicates widespread damage to the main offices of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in the capital Tehran.

A large number of public facilities also seem to have been damaged in the capital city and across Iran after the conflict escalated. Casualty figures from ground sources state that many hundreds of non-combatants may have been fatally injured in the strikes.

As the situation develops, review of space-based data will continue to track the unfolding military landscape.