Orbital Photographs Reveal Iran's Naval Forces and Atomic Facilities Struck by Joint US and Israeli Strikes.

A series of US and Israeli attacks has allegedly destroyed or damaged no fewer than 11 Iranian naval vessels since the weekend, new aerial photos reveal, with rocket sites and atomic facilities also being targeted.

Images of the southerly Konarak naval military port and the Bandar Abbas port installation, which sits on the Strait of Hormuz and contains the headquarters of the Iran's naval force, reveal plumes of smoke rising from multiple warships on recent days.

Naval Forces Incurred Substantial Damage

Included in the ships sunk was the Makran, the country's largest naval vessel which had been used as a unmanned aerial vehicle platform. Satellite images showed dark plumes pouring from the ship which had been stationed at the Bandar Abbas naval base.

Intelligence assessments state that at least a quintet of warships at Bandar Abbas were "damaged or eliminated". Photos of the southern end of the harbor reveal smoke emanating from the IRINS Makran, while two other ships appear to be harmed, with one clearly on fire.

At Konarak, images reveal multiple harmed vessels, with expert review identifying impacts on six ships. Photos from the start of the week also demonstrate that a number of facilities at the installation have been demolished.

"For a long time the Iranian regime has threatened global maritime traffic," an American commander stated. "At present, there is not a single Iranian ship operational in the Persian Gulf, Hormuz Strait or Sea of Oman, and we will continue."

Some ships allegedly destroyed may have been obscured in aerial photos by cloud or smoke, or targeted offshore, and have yet to be fully confirmed. Additional information suggested that a ship from Iran was sinking near Sri Lanka's waters, resulting in a search and rescue mission.

Rocket Bases and Nuclear Locations Hit

Neutralizing Tehran's launch facilities and the prevention of enrichment activities were listed as other goals of the military strikes. Satellite images also revealed impacts against the southerly Khorgu base and north-western Tabriz missile bases, and at the Konarak air base, where missile storage facilities and fortifications were hit.

At the Choqa Balk-e drone drone base to the west of Kermanshah, significant damage was observed to warehouses, bunkers and unmanned aircraft systems.

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

Perhaps most notably, the new round of strikes have reportedly targeted facilities at Natanz – widely believed to be at the heart of Iran's nuclear programme. A global monitoring agency said that the damaged structures were used for access to the site's below-ground nuclear plant and that "no release of radioactive material" was anticipated.

Broader Impact and Analysis

Defense experts indicated that the attacks appeared to have "largely neutralized" the Iran's naval ability to sustain traditional warfare using its largest warships. But, it was noted that Tehran maintains the ability to launch asymmetric warfare at sea through the use of unmanned aerial vehicles, midget subs and its so-called "ghost fleet" of oil ships.

The full extent of the destruction caused to Iran's defense facilities has yet to be fully assessed, with attacks said to be continuing. Photos also reveals widespread destruction to the command center of the Iran's Revolutionary Guards in the capital Tehran.

A large number of civilian buildings also seem to have been struck in the capital and across the country after the conflict started. Reports of deaths from local officials state that hundreds of non-combatants may have been fatally injured in the bombardment.

With the conflict ongoing, analysis of aerial photographs will continue to document the changing scope of damage.