🔗 Share this article Aerial Pictures Depict Iranian Navy and Atomic Sites Struck by Joint US and Israeli Military Action. A series of joint strikes has allegedly eliminated or harmed no fewer than eleven Iran's navy ships starting Saturday, recently obtained aerial photos demonstrate, with missile bases and enrichment plants also coming under fire. Photographs of the southerly Konarak naval naval base and the Bandar Abbas facility, which overlooks the strategic Hormuz Strait and contains the headquarters of the Iran's naval force, show black smoke pouring from several warships on the start of the week. Naval Assets Incurred Significant Losses Included in the targets eliminated was the Makran, Iran's biggest warship which had functioned as a unmanned aerial vehicle platform. Orbital photos showed thick smoke rising from the ship which had been moored at the Bandar Abbas base. Intelligence evaluations state that no fewer than five vessels at Bandar Abbas were "struck or destroyed". Pictures of the southern end of the port depict plumes ascending from the Makran, while another pair of ships appear to be harmed, with a single one visibly ablaze. At the Konarak base, photos display numerous damaged vessels, with expert review pointing to strikes against a half-dozen warships. Images from Monday also indicate that a number of buildings at the installation have been demolished. "For a long time the Iran's leadership has threatened international shipping," an American commander stated. "Now, there is not a single Iranian vessel at sea in the Persian Gulf, Hormuz Strait or Sea of Oman, and we will persist." A number of ships reportedly sunk may have been obscured in aerial photos by weather conditions or battle damage, or struck at sea, and have not been independently verified. Additional information suggested that one Iranian ship was sinking off the coast of Sri Lanka's waters, prompting a search and rescue mission. Rocket Bases and Nuclear Facilities Attacked The destruction of Tehran's launch facilities and the prevention of nuclear weapons development were declared as further objectives of the military strikes. Satellite images also depicted damage at the southern Khorgu and northwestern Tabriz missile bases, and at the Konarak air base, where rocket warehouses and fortifications were struck. At the Choqa Balk-e drone drone base to the west of the city of Kermanshah, significant damage was seen to warehouses, bunkers and drone launch equipment. Destruction was also observed at a radar site at the Zahedan airbase airbase in eastern Iran, near the frontier with Afghanistan and Pakistan. Perhaps most notably, the most recent series of strikes have apparently focused on installations at Natanz – widely believed to be at the core of Iran's atomic program. An international watchdog commented that the affected buildings were used for entry to the site's underground nuclear plant and that "no nuclear fallout" was expected. Wider Impact and Assessment Defense experts stated that the offensive appeared to have "greatly reduced" the Iranian navy's ability to conduct traditional warfare using its most significant warships. However, it was emphasised that Tehran retains the option to launch unconventional attacks at sea through the use of drones, mini-submarines and its so-called "shadow fleet" of oil ships. The full extent of the destruction caused to Iranian military facilities is still uncertain, with attacks reportedly ongoing. Pictures also reveals widespread destruction to the main offices of the Iran's Revolutionary Guards in the city of Tehran. Numerous of non-military structures also are reported to have been damaged in the capital city and throughout the country after the hostilities escalated. Casualty figures from inside Iran state that a high number of civilians may have been fatally injured in the attacks. With the conflict ongoing, monitoring of satellite imagery will persist to track the changing battlefield picture.