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A wave of joint strikes has allegedly destroyed or damaged a minimum of eleven Iranian naval vessels since Saturday, recently obtained aerial photos demonstrate, with launch facilities and nuclear sites also sustaining hits.

Photographs of the southerly Konarak naval base and the Bandar Abbas port installation, which overlooks the strategic Hormuz Strait and contains the headquarters of the Iran's naval force, depict smoke billowing from multiple vessels on Monday and Tuesday.

Naval Forces Sustained Significant Damage

Included in the vessels destroyed was the IRINS Makran, the country's largest naval vessel which had functioned as a unmanned aerial vehicle platform. Aerial imagery displayed black smoke pouring from the vessel which had been docked at the Bandar Abbas base.

Intelligence reports indicate that no fewer than five ships at the port were "damaged or eliminated". Photos of the southern end of the harbor show plumes ascending from the Makran, while another pair of vessels seem to be damaged, with one visibly ablaze.

At the Konarak base, images reveal several stricken ships, with expert review identifying strikes against six ships. Images taken on the start of the week also demonstrate that several facilities at the installation have been leveled.

"For many years the Tehran government has harassed global maritime traffic," the head of US Central Command said. "Today, there is not one vessel from Iran underway in the Arabian Gulf, Hormuz Strait or Sea of Oman, and we will not stop."

A number of ships reportedly sunk may have been obscured in satellite images by weather conditions or battle damage, or targeted offshore, and have not been conclusively proven. Additional information stated that a ship from Iran was sinking near Sri Lanka's territorial waters, leading to 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 listed as other goals of the military strikes. Satellite images also showed strikes on the southerly Khorgu and northwestern Tabriz missile facilities, and at the Konarak air air base, where missile storage facilities and fortifications were targeted.

Over at the Choqa Balk-e drone drone base to the west of the city of Kermanshah, significant destruction was identified to sheds, bunkers and UAV launching apparatus.

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

Perhaps most notably, the latest wave of attacks have apparently focused on installations at Natanz – long said to be at the core of the country's enrichment efforts. The UN's atomic energy body said that the damaged structures were used for entry to the facility's below-ground nuclear plant and that "no release of radioactive material" was likely.

Broader Consequences and Assessment

Defense experts stated that the offensive appeared to have "significantly degraded" the Iranian navy's ability to conduct traditional warfare using its largest warships. However, it was stressed that Iran maintains the capacity to launch asymmetric warfare at sea through the use of unmanned aerial vehicles, mini-submarines and its so-called "clandestine network" of tankers.

The full scope of the destruction caused to Iran's defense infrastructure remains unclear, with hostilities said to be persisting. Imagery also indicates considerable destruction to the headquarters of the Iran's Revolutionary Guards in the capital Tehran.

A significant number of civilian buildings also are reported to have been struck in the capital city and across the country since the hostilities escalated. Toll estimates from ground sources indicate that many hundreds of non-combatants may have been lost their lives in the attacks.

Amid continuing hostilities, review of space-based data will continue to assess the changing battlefield picture.