Satellite Images Reveal Iranian Navy and Nuclear Facilities Damaged by US-Israeli Airstrikes.

A wave of joint strikes has reportedly destroyed or damaged a minimum of 11 warships belonging to Iran since Saturday, freshly analyzed aerial photos reveal, with rocket sites and nuclear sites also being targeted.

Images of the southern Konarak naval military port and the Bandar Abbas facility, which sits on the strategic Hormuz Strait and is home to the main command of the Iranian navy, reveal plumes of smoke rising from several ships on recent days.

Maritime Fleet Incurred Substantial Damage

Among the targets eliminated was the IRINS Makran, Iran's most sizable ship which had functioned as a unmanned aerial vehicle platform. Aerial imagery showed black smoke pouring from the vessel which had been stationed at the Bandar Abbas base.

Analytical assessments suggest that no fewer than five vessels at Bandar Abbas were "damaged or eliminated". Pictures of the southern end of the port show smoke emanating from the IRINS Makran, while two other vessels appear to be harmed, with a single one clearly on fire.

Over at Konarak, images reveal numerous stricken vessels, with expert review identifying strikes against six ships. Pictures from the start of the week also demonstrate that multiple structures at the installation have been destroyed.

"For many years the Iranian regime has harassed global maritime traffic," an American commander stated. "Today, there is not one Iranian ship operational in the Arabian Gulf, Hormuz Strait or Sea of Oman, and we will not stop."

A number of ships allegedly destroyed may have been obscured in aerial photos by cloud or smoke, or hit in open waters, and have not been independently verified. Other accounts suggested that an Iranian vessel was going down near Sri Lanka's waters, prompting a rescue operation.

Missile Sites and Nuclear Locations Targeted

Eliminating Iran's rocket sites and the prevention of nuclear weapons development were stated as further objectives of the offensive. Aerial imagery also revealed strikes on the southerly Khorgu base and northwestern Tabriz facilities, and at the Konarak air air base, where rocket warehouses and bunkers were struck.

Over at the Choqa Balk-e drone UAV facility to the west of the city of Kermanshah, widespread destruction was observed to warehouses, underground facilities and unmanned aircraft systems.

Impact was also noted at a radar installation at the Zahedan airbase in eastern Iran, close to the frontier with neighboring nations.

Of particular note, the new round of attacks have reportedly hit installations at Natanz – considered at the center of the country's nuclear programme. The UN's atomic energy body commented that the damaged structures were used for entry to the facility's below-ground enrichment facility and that "no release of radioactive material" was likely.

Wider Consequences and Analysis

Military analysts suggested that the strikes appeared to have "greatly reduced" the Iran's naval capability to carry out conventional attacks using its largest vessels. However, it was stressed that Iran still has the capacity to launch irregular strikes at sea through the use of unmanned aerial vehicles, small submarines and its so-called "shadow fleet" of tankers.

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 extensive destruction to the headquarters of the Iran's Revolutionary Guards in the city of Tehran.

A large number of civilian buildings also appear to have been struck in the capital city and across Iran after the hostilities started. Casualty figures from inside Iran suggest that many hundreds of non-combatants may have been lost their lives in the strikes.

Amid continuing hostilities, review of space-based data will persist to assess the evolving scope of damage.