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A series of US and Israeli airstrikes has allegedly destroyed or damaged a minimum of eleven Iranian naval vessels since Saturday, recently obtained aerial photos demonstrate, with missile bases and nuclear sites also coming under fire.

Pictures of the southern Konarak military port and the Bandar Abbas port installation, which sits on the strategic Hormuz Strait and is home to the headquarters of the Iranian navy, depict plumes of smoke rising from a number of warships on Monday and Tuesday.

Maritime Assets Incurred Major Damage

Included in the vessels destroyed was the Makran, Iran's most sizable ship which had been used as a unmanned aerial vehicle platform. Satellite images indicated thick smoke rising from the ship which had been stationed at the Bandar Abbas naval base.

Intelligence reports indicate that at least a quintet of warships at Bandar Abbas were "hit or sunk". Imagery of the south end of the harbor reveal smoke emanating from the Makran, while additional ships appear to be damaged, with one of them seen burning.

Over at Konarak, photos reveal numerous stricken ships, with expert review identifying damage to six vessels. Photos taken on Monday also indicate that several structures at the base have been leveled.

"For decades the Tehran government has disrupted international shipping," an American commander declared. "At present, there is no Iranian ship at sea in the Arabian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz or Gulf of Oman, and we will persist."

A number of ships allegedly destroyed may have been obscured in satellite images by cloud or smoke, or targeted offshore, and have not been conclusively proven. Separate reports suggested that one Iranian ship was sinking off the coast of Sri Lankan waters, leading to a rescue operation.

Missile Bases and Nuclear Locations Targeted

The destruction of Iran's rocket sites and the hindering of nuclear weapons development were declared as further goals of the offensive. Aerial imagery also revealed damage at the southern Khorgu and north-western Tabriz missile bases, and at the Konarak air air base, where rocket warehouses and bunkers were struck.

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

Damage was also noted at a radar site at the Zahedan airbase airbase in eastern parts of the country, near the border with Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Significantly, the new round of attacks have apparently focused on facilities at the Natanz complex – considered at the core of Iran's nuclear programme. The UN's atomic energy body said that the affected buildings were used for entry to the site's below-ground enrichment facility and that "no release of radioactive material" was likely.

Wider Impact and Assessment

Observers suggested that the attacks appeared to have "greatly reduced" the Iran's naval capability to carry out conventional attacks using its most significant warships. But, it was emphasised that Tehran retains the capacity to launch irregular strikes at sea through the use of unmanned aerial vehicles, midget subs and its so-called "ghost fleet" of oil ships.

The total scale of the damage caused to Iran's defense facilities has yet to be fully assessed, with attacks reportedly persisting. Imagery also shows extensive destruction to the command center of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in the capital Tehran.

A significant number of civilian buildings also are reported to have been struck in the capital and across the country since the fighting escalated. Toll estimates from local officials state that many hundreds of civilians may have been lost their lives in the strikes.

With the conflict ongoing, monitoring of space-based data will persist to track the changing scope of damage.