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Multiple American and Israeli airstrikes has allegedly sunk or crippled no fewer than 11 Iranian naval vessels starting the weekend, new aerial photos demonstrate, with launch facilities and atomic facilities also being targeted.

Images of the southerly Konarak naval base and the Bandar Abbas installation, which overlooks the strategic Hormuz Strait and is home to the headquarters of the Iran's naval force, reveal plumes of smoke rising from multiple vessels on the start of the week.

Maritime Forces Sustained Substantial Losses

Included in the ships sunk was the IRINS Makran, Iran's most sizable ship which had been used as a unmanned aerial vehicle platform. Orbital photos indicated thick smoke emanating from the ship which had been docked at the Bandar Abbas base.

Intelligence evaluations suggest that at least a quintet of warships at the port were "struck or destroyed". Photos of the southern part of the port reveal smoke rising from the IRINS Makran, while another pair of vessels seem to be damaged, with a single one seen burning.

Over at the Konarak base, photos display multiple stricken ships, with intelligence reports identifying impacts on six ships. Images from the start of the week also indicate that several buildings at the base have been destroyed.

"For decades the Iranian regime has disrupted global maritime traffic," the head of US Central Command stated. "Today, there is not one Iranian vessel operational in the Arabian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz or Sea of Oman, and we will continue."

A number of vessels reportedly sunk may have been hidden in aerial photos by haze or plumes, or struck at sea, and have not been independently verified. Additional information suggested that an Iranian vessel was going down off the coast of Sri Lankan waters, prompting a search and rescue mission.

Rocket Bases and Nuclear Locations Targeted

Eliminating Tehran's launch facilities and the prevention of nuclear weapons development were listed as further aims of the offensive. Aerial imagery also showed impacts against the southerly Khorgu base and northwestern Tabriz missile bases, and at the Konarak base, where rocket warehouses and fortifications were struck.

At the Choqa Balk-e UAV facility to the west of the city of Kermanshah, significant destruction was observed to storage buildings, underground facilities and unmanned aircraft systems.

Damage was also noted at a radar installation at the Zahedan military airport in eastern parts of the country, close to the border with neighboring nations.

Perhaps most notably, the most recent series of attacks have reportedly targeted installations at Natanz – long said to be at the heart of the country's nuclear programme. A global monitoring agency commented that the damaged buildings were used for access to the facility's underground enrichment facility and that "no nuclear fallout" was expected.

Wider Fallout and Analysis

Observers indicated that the strikes appeared to have "largely neutralized" the Iran's naval ability to carry out conventional attacks using its biggest vessels. But, it was stressed that Tehran retains the ability to launch asymmetric warfare at sea through the use of unmanned aerial vehicles, midget subs and its so-called "shadow fleet" of tankers.

The overall scope of the destruction caused to Iranian military facilities has yet to be fully assessed, with hostilities reportedly ongoing. Photos also reveals widespread destruction to the headquarters of the Iran's Revolutionary Guards in the capital Tehran.

Numerous of civilian buildings also are reported to have been struck in the capital and throughout Iran after the hostilities began. Casualty figures from local officials indicate that many hundreds of non-combatants may have been lost their lives in the strikes.

As the situation develops, review of space-based data will continue to document the unfolding battlefield picture.