🔗 Share this article Aerial Pictures Show Iranian Navy and Atomic Facilities Hit by Joint US and Israeli Military Action. A series of joint strikes has allegedly sunk or crippled at least eleven warships belonging to Iran starting Saturday, freshly analyzed orbital imagery reveal, with missile bases and enrichment plants also sustaining hits. Images of the southern Konarak naval military port and the Bandar Abbas installation, which sits on the Strait of Hormuz and houses the main command of the Iranian navy, show black smoke pouring from a number of vessels on Monday and Tuesday. Maritime Fleet Incurred Substantial Losses Included in the vessels destroyed was the IRINS Makran, Iran's most sizable ship which had served as a drone carrier. Orbital photos indicated dark plumes pouring from the ship which had been docked at the Bandar Abbas naval base. Analytical reports state that no fewer than five ships at Bandar Abbas were "damaged or eliminated". Photos of the southern part of the port reveal smoke rising from the Makran, while another pair of ships seem to be damaged, with one clearly on fire. At Konarak, images reveal numerous stricken vessels, with intelligence reports identifying strikes against six ships. Pictures from Monday also indicate that a number of structures at the base have been demolished. "For decades the Iranian regime has threatened commercial vessels," an American commander said. "Today, there is not one vessel from Iran operational in the Persian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz or Gulf of Oman, and we will persist." A number of vessels reportedly sunk may have been hidden in aerial photos by haze or plumes, or hit in open waters, and have not been conclusively proven. Separate reports suggested that a ship from Iran was foundering near Sri Lankan waters, leading to a search and rescue mission. Rocket Bases and Nuclear Facilities Hit Eliminating Iran's rocket sites and the stopping nuclear weapons development were stated as further objectives of the air campaign. Satellite images also showed impacts against the southerly Khorgu base and north-western Tabriz missile bases, and at the Konarak base, where weapons bunkers and fortifications were struck. Over at the Choqa Balk-e unmanned aircraft site west of the city of Kermanshah, extensive destruction was seen to sheds, underground facilities and unmanned aircraft systems. Damage was also seen at a radar installation at the Zahedan military airport in eastern parts of the country, near the frontier with neighboring nations. Significantly, the new round of attacks have apparently targeted sites at Natanz – considered at the core of the country's atomic program. The UN's atomic energy body stated that the affected structures were used for entry to the site's below-ground enrichment facility and that "no release of radioactive material" was expected. Wider Impact and Assessment Observers stated that the strikes appeared to have "greatly reduced" the Iran's naval capability to sustain standard operations using its biggest warships. But, it was emphasised that Iran retains the capacity to launch unconventional attacks at sea through the use of unmanned aerial vehicles, small submarines 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 ongoing. Imagery also indicates extensive damage to the main offices of the the IRGC in the city of Tehran. A significant number of public facilities also are reported to have been damaged in the capital city and across the country after the conflict started. Casualty figures from ground sources indicate that many hundreds of non-combatants may have been fatally injured in the attacks. With the conflict ongoing, monitoring of aerial photographs will persist to document the unfolding military landscape.