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A series of US and Israeli strikes has allegedly eliminated or harmed no fewer than eleven Iranian naval vessels starting Saturday, recently obtained orbital imagery show, with rocket sites and enrichment plants also being targeted.

Images of the southerly Konarak naval military port and the Bandar Abbas facility, which is located on the strategic Hormuz Strait and is home to the headquarters of the Iran's naval force, depict black smoke pouring from multiple warships on the start of the week.

Maritime Assets Sustained Significant Losses

Included in the targets eliminated was the IRINS Makran, Iran's biggest warship which had been used as a drone carrier. Orbital photos displayed dark plumes rising from the ship which had been stationed at the Bandar Abbas base.

Intelligence reports suggest that no fewer than five vessels at Bandar Abbas were "damaged or eliminated". Imagery of the south end of the port show smoke emanating from the IRINS Makran, while additional ships seem to be impacted, with one of them visibly ablaze.

Over at the Konarak base, images show multiple damaged ships, with intelligence reports identifying strikes against six ships. Images taken on the start of the week also demonstrate that multiple facilities at the base have been leveled.

"For decades the Tehran government has disrupted commercial vessels," a senior US military official said. "Today, there is no Iranian ship at sea in the Arabian Gulf, Hormuz Strait or Sea of Oman, and we will continue."

A number of ships allegedly destroyed may have been hidden in aerial photos by cloud or smoke, or struck at sea, and have not been independently verified. Separate reports indicated that a ship from Iran was going down near Sri Lankan territorial waters, resulting in a search and rescue mission.

Rocket Sites and Atomic Locations Attacked

Neutralizing Iran's rocket sites and the hindering of atomic bomb programs were stated as other objectives of the air campaign. Satellite images also revealed strikes on the southerly Khorgu and northwestern Tabriz missile bases, and at the Konarak air base, where rocket warehouses and bunkers were struck.

At the Choqa Balk-e unmanned aircraft site to the west of the city of Kermanshah, widespread destruction was identified to sheds, bunkers and unmanned aircraft systems.

Destruction was also observed at a surveillance station at the Zahedan airbase military airport in eastern parts of the country, near the frontier with Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Perhaps most notably, the latest wave of strikes have reportedly focused on installations at Natanz – long said to be at the heart of Iran's enrichment efforts. The UN's atomic energy body said that the affected structures were used for access to the facility's below-ground nuclear plant and that "no radiological consequence" was expected.

Broader Consequences and Analysis

Military analysts suggested that the strikes appeared to have "significantly degraded" the Iranian navy's ability to conduct conventional attacks using its most significant warships. Nevertheless, it was stressed that Tehran retains the option to launch asymmetric warfare at sea through the use of drones, midget subs and its so-called "clandestine network" of oil ships.

The full extent of the destruction caused to Iran's defense facilities remains unclear, with hostilities reportedly continuing. Photos also indicates extensive damage to the command center of the the IRGC in the city of Tehran.

Numerous of civilian buildings also appear to have been hit in the capital city and across the country after the fighting started. Casualty figures from ground sources suggest that many hundreds of civilians may have been killed in the attacks.

With the conflict ongoing, monitoring of satellite imagery will carry on to assess the evolving military landscape.