Satellite Pictures Depict Iranian Navy and Nuclear Facilities Struck by Joint US and Israeli Airstrikes.

Multiple joint strikes has according to analysis sunk or crippled a minimum of 11 Iranian naval vessels since Saturday, new satellite images show, with launch facilities and enrichment plants also sustaining hits.

Images of the southerly Konarak naval naval base and the Bandar Abbas port facility, which is located on the strategic Hormuz Strait and is home to the headquarters of the Iranian navy, reveal plumes of smoke rising from a number of vessels on Monday and Tuesday.

Naval Fleet Sustained Major Damage

Among the vessels destroyed was the Makran, the country's biggest warship which had functioned as a drone carrier. Aerial imagery indicated dark plumes pouring from the ship which had been moored at the Bandar Abbas naval base.

Analytical assessments state that at least five ships at Bandar Abbas were "hit or sunk". Photos of the southern end of the port show smoke emanating from the IRINS Makran, while another pair of ships appear to be impacted, with a single one seen burning.

Over at Konarak, photos display several stricken vessels, with analysis identifying strikes against a half-dozen warships. Photos taken on the start of the week also demonstrate that a number of facilities at the installation have been demolished.

"For a long time the Iran's leadership has harassed global maritime traffic," a senior US military official stated. "At present, there is not one Iranian vessel underway in the Persian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz or Gulf of Oman, and we will persist."

Some ships reportedly sunk may have been obscured in aerial photos by weather conditions or battle damage, or struck at sea, and have not been conclusively proven. Other accounts suggested that one Iranian ship was going down off the coast of Sri Lankan territorial waters, leading to a search and rescue mission.

Missile Installations and Atomic Locations Attacked

Eliminating Tehran's launch facilities and the stopping enrichment activities were listed as further aims of the air campaign. Aerial imagery also showed impacts against the southerly Khorgu base and northwestern Tabriz missile missile bases, and at the Konarak air base, where weapons bunkers and fortifications were hit.

Over at the Choqa Balk-e drone drone base to the west of the city of Kermanshah, widespread damage was seen to sheds, underground facilities and UAV launching apparatus.

Destruction was also observed at a radar site at the Zahedan airbase in eastern Iran, close to the border with neighboring nations.

Perhaps most notably, the most recent series of attacks have reportedly hit installations at the Natanz complex – widely believed to be at the heart of the country's atomic program. A global monitoring agency commented that the damaged buildings were used for access to the facility's below-ground nuclear plant and that "no nuclear fallout" was likely.

Wider Fallout and Assessment

Observers suggested that the attacks appeared to have "greatly reduced" the Iran's naval ability to conduct traditional warfare using its most significant vessels. However, it was stressed that Iran retains the option to launch asymmetric warfare at sea through the use of drones, midget subs and its so-called "ghost fleet" of tankers.

The total scale of the destruction caused to Iranian military facilities has yet to be fully assessed, with strikes reportedly persisting. Photos also shows considerable damage to the main offices of the the IRGC in the city of Tehran.

Numerous of civilian buildings also are reported to have been damaged in the capital city and throughout Iran after the hostilities escalated. Toll estimates from local officials indicate that many hundreds of civilians may have been fatally injured in the attacks.

As the situation develops, analysis of aerial photographs will continue to track the changing battlefield picture.

Stacy Nelson
Stacy Nelson

Maya Chen is a tech journalist and business analyst with over a decade of experience covering global innovation trends and startup ecosystems.