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Multiple joint airstrikes has reportedly sunk or crippled a minimum of eleven Iran's navy ships starting the weekend, new aerial photos show, with rocket sites and atomic facilities also being targeted.

Pictures of the southerly Konarak military port and the Bandar Abbas port installation, which is located on the strategic Hormuz Strait and contains the headquarters of the Iranian navy, show plumes of smoke rising from several warships on Monday and Tuesday.

Maritime Forces Sustained Major Damage

Among the vessels destroyed was the Makran, the country's largest naval vessel which had served as a drone carrier. Aerial imagery displayed black smoke emanating from the ship which had been docked at the Bandar Abbas base.

Intelligence evaluations state that at least five ships at Bandar Abbas were "struck or destroyed". Imagery of the southern end of the port reveal smoke emanating from the IRINS Makran, while additional ships appear to be impacted, with one of them seen burning.

Over at the Konarak base, images display several harmed vessels, with expert review pointing to strikes against 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 Tehran government has threatened global maritime traffic," a senior US military official stated. "Now, there is not one Iranian vessel operational in the Persian Gulf, Hormuz Strait or Sea of Oman, and we will continue."

Some ships reportedly sunk may have been concealed in aerial photos by weather conditions or battle damage, or targeted offshore, and have yet to be fully confirmed. Separate reports stated that one Iranian ship was going down off the coast of Sri Lanka's territorial waters, resulting in a rescue operation.

Rocket Sites and Atomic Locations Hit

Eliminating Iranian missile bases and the prevention of atomic bomb programs were listed as other objectives of the offensive. Aerial imagery also showed damage at the southern Khorgu and north-western Tabriz missile bases, and at the Konarak air base, where weapons bunkers and bunkers were hit.

At the Choqa Balk-e UAV facility to the west of the city of Kermanshah, widespread damage was identified to warehouses, bunkers and unmanned aircraft systems.

Damage was also seen at a radar installation at the Zahedan airbase in eastern Iran, near the border with Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Of particular note, the most recent series of strikes have apparently hit facilities at Natanz – widely believed to be at the heart of Iran's nuclear programme. A global monitoring agency said that the affected structures were used for entry to the site's underground enrichment facility and that "no nuclear fallout" was likely.

Wider Consequences and Analysis

Military analysts indicated that the strikes appeared to have "greatly reduced" the Iran's naval capability to carry out standard operations using its most significant vessels. But, it was noted that Iran maintains the option to launch irregular strikes at sea through the use of unmanned aerial vehicles, mini-submarines and its so-called "ghost fleet" of oil ships.

The total extent of the damage caused to Iranian military facilities is still uncertain, with attacks said to be ongoing. Pictures also reveals widespread destruction to the main offices of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in the city of Tehran.

A significant number of public facilities also appear to have been struck in the capital city and throughout the country after the hostilities escalated. Reports of deaths from local officials state that many hundreds of non-combatants may have been killed in the bombardment.

As the situation develops, monitoring of space-based data will carry on to assess the unfolding battlefield picture.