🔗 Share this article Space-Based Photographs Depict Iran's Naval Forces and Atomic Sites Targeted by American and Israeli Strikes. A wave of American and Israeli strikes has according to analysis eliminated or harmed at least eleven Iranian naval vessels since the weekend, freshly analyzed aerial photos show, with launch facilities and enrichment plants also sustaining hits. Photographs 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, depict black smoke pouring from multiple vessels on Monday and Tuesday. Naval Assets Incurred Major Losses Included in the targets eliminated was the Makran, Iran's biggest warship which had served as a drone carrier. Aerial imagery indicated dark plumes emanating from the ship which had been moored at the Bandar Abbas base. Analytical assessments suggest that at least a quintet of warships at the port were "struck or destroyed". Imagery of the south end of the port show smoke rising from the IRINS Makran, while additional vessels are visibly impacted, with a single one clearly on fire. At the Konarak base, photos display numerous stricken vessels, with analysis identifying impacts on a half-dozen warships. Images taken on the start of the week also demonstrate that several buildings at the base have been destroyed. "For a long time the Tehran government has threatened commercial vessels," a senior US military official stated. "At present, there is not a single Iranian vessel at sea in the Persian Gulf, Hormuz Strait or Gulf of Oman, and we will persist." A number of ships allegedly destroyed may have been hidden in aerial photos by weather conditions or battle damage, or targeted offshore, and have not been conclusively proven. Separate reports stated that a ship from Iran was foundering off the coast of Sri Lanka's territorial waters, leading to a search and rescue mission. Rocket Bases and Nuclear Locations Targeted Eliminating Iran's rocket sites and the hindering of atomic bomb programs were stated as further goals of the military strikes. Aerial imagery also showed strikes on the southerly Khorgu and north-western Tabriz missile bases, and at the Konarak air base, where rocket warehouses and bunkers were hit. Over at the Choqa Balk-e drone base to the west of the city of Kermanshah, significant damage was observed to sheds, bunkers and drone launch equipment. Damage was also seen at a surveillance station at the Zahedan airbase military airport in eastern Iran, near the frontier with neighboring nations. Of particular note, the most recent series of attacks have reportedly targeted installations at Natanz – long said to be at the center of the country's atomic program. The UN's atomic energy body commented that the affected buildings were used for entry to the facility's underground enrichment facility and that "no release of radioactive material" was expected. Broader Consequences and Assessment Defense experts suggested that the strikes appeared to have "greatly reduced" the Iranian navy's ability to carry out traditional warfare using its largest vessels. Nevertheless, it was stressed that Iran retains the option to launch irregular strikes at sea through the use of unmanned aerial vehicles, small submarines and its so-called "ghost fleet" of oil ships. The full scale of the damage caused to Iranian military facilities has yet to be fully assessed, with attacks said to be continuing. Imagery also shows considerable destruction to the main offices of the Iran's Revolutionary Guards in the city of Tehran. A significant number of non-military structures also appear to have been hit in the capital and across Iran since the hostilities started. Toll estimates from inside Iran indicate that many hundreds of civilians may have been fatally injured in the bombardment. With the conflict ongoing, analysis of space-based data will persist to assess the changing military landscape.