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A series of American and Israeli attacks has reportedly eliminated or harmed no fewer than 11 Iran's navy ships starting the weekend, new orbital imagery reveal, with missile bases and nuclear sites also being targeted.

Pictures of the southern Konarak naval naval base and the Bandar Abbas installation, which is located on the strategic Hormuz Strait and houses the headquarters of the Iran's naval force, depict black smoke pouring from several ships on recent days.

Maritime Forces Sustained Major Damage

Among the vessels destroyed was the IRINS Makran, the country's largest naval vessel which had functioned as a drone carrier. Aerial imagery indicated black smoke pouring from the ship which had been stationed at the Bandar Abbas naval base.

Intelligence reports suggest that no fewer than five ships at the port were "hit or sunk". Imagery of the southern part of the harbor reveal plumes ascending from the Makran, while another pair of vessels appear to be impacted, with one of them visibly ablaze.

At Konarak, photos reveal numerous damaged vessels, with analysis identifying strikes against a half-dozen warships. Pictures taken on the start of the week also demonstrate that a number of buildings at the base have been destroyed.

"For many years the Iranian regime has harassed commercial vessels," the head of US Central Command declared. "At present, there is no Iranian ship underway in the Arabian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz or Gulf of Oman, and we will persist."

A number of ships reportedly destroyed may have been obscured in satellite images by weather conditions or battle damage, or targeted offshore, and have yet to be fully confirmed. Separate reports indicated that an Iranian vessel was foundering near Sri Lanka's waters, resulting in a rescue operation.

Rocket Installations and Nuclear Locations Hit

Eliminating Tehran's launch facilities and the hindering of enrichment activities were listed as further objectives of the offensive. Aerial imagery also showed strikes on the southerly Khorgu base and north-western Tabriz facilities, and at the Konarak air air base, where rocket warehouses and bunkers were targeted.

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

Impact was also noted at a radar site at the Zahedan military airport in eastern parts of the country, near the frontier with Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Perhaps most notably, the most recent series of strikes have apparently targeted installations at Natanz – widely believed to be at the center of the country's atomic program. The UN's atomic energy body said that the damaged buildings were used for entry to the site's below-ground enrichment facility and that "no radiological consequence" was likely.

Broader Impact and Analysis

Military analysts indicated that the attacks appeared to have "significantly degraded" the Iranian navy's capacity to carry out traditional warfare using its most significant warships. Nevertheless, it was emphasised that Iran still has the capacity to launch unconventional attacks at sea through the use of unmanned aerial vehicles, midget subs and its so-called "shadow fleet" of oil ships.

The total scale of the destruction caused to Iranian military facilities has yet to be fully assessed, with strikes reportedly ongoing. Pictures also indicates extensive destruction to the headquarters of the Iran's Revolutionary Guards in the city of Tehran.

A significant number of public facilities also appear to have been hit in the capital city and across the country after the hostilities began. Toll estimates from ground sources indicate that a high number of civilians may have been killed in the bombardment.

As the situation develops, review of aerial photographs will carry on to document the unfolding military landscape.