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A series of joint strikes has according to analysis destroyed or damaged a minimum of 11 warships belonging to Iran starting Saturday, recently obtained aerial photos reveal, with rocket sites and atomic facilities also being targeted.

Pictures of the southerly Konarak naval naval base and the Bandar Abbas port installation, which is located on the strategic Hormuz Strait and is home to the main command of the Iranian navy, depict plumes of smoke rising from several warships on recent days.

Naval Fleet Incurred Major Damage

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

Analytical evaluations state that no fewer than a quintet of warships at Bandar Abbas were "struck or destroyed". Imagery of the southern end of the harbor reveal smoke emanating from the IRINS Makran, while two other vessels are visibly impacted, with a single one clearly on fire.

At Konarak, images reveal several damaged vessels, with analysis identifying strikes against a half-dozen warships. Pictures taken on Monday also indicate that several structures at the installation have been demolished.

"For a long time the Tehran government has disrupted global maritime traffic," an American commander said. "Now, there is no vessel from Iran operational in the Arabian Gulf, Hormuz Strait or Gulf of Oman, and we will persist."

Some ships reportedly sunk may have been hidden in aerial photos by weather conditions or battle damage, or targeted offshore, and have not been conclusively proven. Additional information suggested that an Iranian vessel was going down off the coast of Sri Lanka's territorial waters, leading to a rescue operation.

Missile Bases and Nuclear Facilities Attacked

Neutralizing Tehran's launch facilities and the stopping nuclear weapons development were stated as additional objectives of the military strikes. Satellite images also depicted strikes on the southerly Khorgu and northwestern Tabriz missile bases, and at the Konarak air base, where rocket warehouses and bunkers were struck.

Over at the Choqa Balk-e drone UAV facility west of Kermanshah, widespread damage was seen to warehouses, underground facilities and drone launch equipment.

Destruction was also seen at a radar site at the Zahedan airbase military airport in eastern parts of the country, close to the frontier with Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Significantly, the latest wave of strikes have reportedly targeted installations at the Natanz complex – widely believed to be at the heart of the country's nuclear programme. A global monitoring agency commented that the damaged structures were used for entry to the facility's below-ground nuclear plant and that "no radiological consequence" was expected.

Wider Consequences and Analysis

Observers suggested that the offensive appeared to have "largely neutralized" the Iran's naval capacity to carry out traditional warfare using its most significant warships. However, it was stressed that Iran maintains the option to launch asymmetric warfare at sea through the use of unmanned aerial vehicles, midget subs and its so-called "ghost fleet" of oil ships.

The overall scope of the destruction caused to Iranian military infrastructure is still uncertain, with attacks reportedly persisting. Photos also reveals considerable destruction to the main offices of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in the city of Tehran.

A large number of civilian buildings also seem to have been hit in the capital and across the country after the conflict began. Toll estimates from ground sources indicate that a high number of civilians may have been killed in the strikes.

With the conflict ongoing, review of space-based data will carry on to assess the unfolding scope of damage.