🔗 Share this article Space-Based Images Show Iran's Naval Forces and Nuclear Facilities Damaged by American and Israeli Attacks. A series of joint strikes has reportedly sunk or crippled no fewer than 11 warships belonging to Iran since Saturday, new orbital imagery demonstrate, with missile bases and nuclear sites also being targeted. Pictures of the southern Konarak naval base and the Bandar Abbas port facility, which sits on the Strait of Hormuz and contains the headquarters of the Iranian navy, show black smoke pouring from multiple vessels on the start of the week. Naval Assets Sustained Major Damage Among the targets eliminated was the Makran, Iran's largest naval vessel which had served as a unmanned aerial vehicle platform. Aerial imagery displayed thick smoke pouring from the vessel which had been docked at the Bandar Abbas naval base. Intelligence evaluations suggest that no fewer than five ships at the port were "damaged or eliminated". Pictures of the southern end of the port show plumes ascending from the IRINS Makran, while another pair of ships are visibly damaged, with one of them seen burning. At the Konarak base, images display multiple damaged vessels, with expert review identifying impacts on a half-dozen warships. Pictures from Monday also show that multiple structures at the base have been demolished. "For many years the Iran's leadership has threatened international shipping," an American commander stated. "Today, there is no Iranian ship operational in the Arabian Gulf, Hormuz Strait or Sea of Oman, and we will continue." A number of vessels allegedly destroyed may have been hidden in aerial photos by haze or plumes, or hit in open waters, and have yet to be fully confirmed. Other accounts suggested that an Iranian vessel was going down near Sri Lankan waters, prompting a rescue operation. Missile Sites and Atomic Facilities Hit Neutralizing Tehran's launch facilities and the prevention of nuclear weapons development were stated as further goals of the offensive. Aerial imagery also revealed damage at the southern Khorgu base and north-western Tabriz facilities, and at the Konarak base, where missile storage facilities and bunkers were targeted. Over at the Choqa Balk-e drone unmanned aircraft site to the west of the city of Kermanshah, significant damage was seen to sheds, bunkers and drone launch equipment. Impact was also noted at a surveillance station at the Zahedan airbase in eastern parts of the country, near the border with Afghanistan and Pakistan. Perhaps most notably, the most recent series of strikes have reportedly targeted facilities at the Natanz complex – considered at the center of Iran's atomic program. A global monitoring agency stated that the damaged structures were used for access to the facility's underground nuclear plant and that "no release of radioactive material" was expected. Broader Impact and Assessment Defense experts indicated that the offensive appeared to have "greatly reduced" the Iranian navy's capability to sustain standard operations using its biggest vessels. Nevertheless, it was noted that Iran maintains the ability to launch irregular strikes at sea through the use of drones, small submarines and its so-called "clandestine network" of oil ships. The full scope of the damage caused to Iran's defense facilities remains unclear, with attacks said to be persisting. Imagery also shows considerable damage to the headquarters of the Iran's Revolutionary Guards in the city of Tehran. Numerous of non-military structures also appear to have been hit in the capital and throughout Iran after the conflict began. Toll estimates from ground sources indicate that many hundreds of non-combatants may have been killed in the strikes. With the conflict ongoing, review of satellite imagery will carry on to track the evolving battlefield picture.