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A series of US and Israeli airstrikes has according to analysis eliminated or harmed a minimum of eleven Iran's navy ships starting the weekend, new satellite images demonstrate, with missile bases and enrichment plants also coming under fire.

Photographs of the southerly Konarak naval military port and the Bandar Abbas port facility, which sits on the Strait of Hormuz and is home to the main command of the Iranian navy, show smoke billowing from a number of ships on Monday and Tuesday.

Maritime Forces Sustained Significant Damage

Included in the vessels destroyed was the IRINS Makran, Iran's most sizable ship which had functioned as a unmanned aerial vehicle platform. Orbital photos displayed dark plumes pouring from the ship which had been moored at the Bandar Abbas base.

Intelligence assessments suggest that no fewer than five vessels at the port were "damaged or eliminated". Pictures of the southern end of the harbor reveal smoke rising from the Makran, while two other ships seem to be damaged, with one of them seen burning.

Over at the Konarak base, images reveal numerous damaged vessels, with expert review identifying impacts on six vessels. Images taken on the start of the week also indicate that several buildings at the installation have been demolished.

"For many years the Iran's leadership has threatened international shipping," an American commander stated. "At present, there is not one vessel from Iran underway in the Arabian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz or Gulf of Oman, and we will continue."

Some vessels reportedly sunk may have been obscured in satellite images by haze or plumes, or hit in open waters, and have not been independently verified. Other accounts indicated that an Iranian vessel was going down off the coast of Sri Lankan waters, leading to a search and rescue mission.

Rocket Bases and Atomic Facilities Hit

The destruction of Iran's rocket sites and the hindering of atomic bomb programs were listed as further goals of the military strikes. Satellite images also revealed impacts against the southerly Khorgu base and north-western Tabriz missile facilities, and at the Konarak base, where weapons bunkers and fortifications were hit.

Over at the Choqa Balk-e drone unmanned aircraft site to the west of the city of Kermanshah, extensive destruction was observed to sheds, bunkers and UAV launching apparatus.

Destruction was also observed at a surveillance station at the Zahedan airbase airbase in eastern Iran, close to the border with Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Perhaps most notably, the most recent series of attacks have reportedly targeted facilities at Natanz – long said to be at the core of the country's enrichment efforts. An international watchdog commented that the affected buildings were used for entry to the site's underground nuclear plant and that "no release of radioactive material" was anticipated.

Wider Consequences and Analysis

Military analysts suggested that the attacks appeared to have "greatly reduced" the Iran's naval capacity to carry out conventional attacks using its most significant vessels. Nevertheless, it was noted that Tehran still has the option to launch unconventional attacks at sea through the use of drones, small submarines and its so-called "shadow fleet" of tankers.

The overall scope of the damage caused to Iran's defense facilities has yet to be fully assessed, with strikes said to be continuing. Imagery also indicates widespread destruction to the headquarters of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in the city of Tehran.

A large number of civilian buildings also seem to have been struck in the capital city and throughout Iran since the conflict began. Casualty figures from local officials suggest that hundreds of non-combatants may have been lost their lives in the attacks.

With the conflict ongoing, review of space-based data will continue to document the evolving military landscape.