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A series of American and Israeli strikes has allegedly eliminated or harmed a minimum of eleven Iran's navy ships since the weekend, new orbital imagery demonstrate, with missile bases and atomic facilities also being targeted.

Pictures of the southern Konarak naval base and the Bandar Abbas port installation, which is located on the Strait of Hormuz and houses the headquarters of the Iranian navy, depict plumes of smoke rising from multiple ships on the start of the week.

Naval Fleet Sustained Substantial Losses

Among the ships sunk was the IRINS Makran, Iran's biggest warship which had served as a drone carrier. Orbital photos displayed dark plumes emanating from the vessel which had been stationed at the Bandar Abbas naval base.

Intelligence evaluations indicate that no fewer than a quintet of warships at the port were "damaged or eliminated". Photos of the south end of the harbor show smoke emanating from the IRINS Makran, while two other ships are visibly damaged, with a single one visibly ablaze.

Over at the Konarak base, images reveal multiple stricken ships, with intelligence reports pointing to damage to a half-dozen warships. Pictures taken on the start of the week also indicate that several structures at the base have been destroyed.

"For many years the Iranian regime has disrupted international shipping," the head of US Central Command said. "Now, there is not a single vessel from Iran at sea in the Arabian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz or Sea of Oman, and we will persist."

A number of vessels reportedly sunk may have been hidden in aerial photos by weather conditions or battle damage, or hit in open waters, and have not been conclusively proven. Other accounts indicated that a ship from Iran was going down near Sri Lanka's waters, resulting in a search and rescue mission.

Missile Installations and Nuclear Facilities Hit

The destruction of Iran's rocket sites and the hindering of enrichment activities were stated as additional aims of the military strikes. Aerial imagery also showed impacts against the southerly Khorgu and northwestern Tabriz facilities, and at the Konarak air base, where rocket warehouses and fortifications were struck.

Over at the Choqa Balk-e drone base west of Kermanshah, extensive destruction was identified to warehouses, bunkers and drone launch equipment.

Impact was also noted at a surveillance station at the Zahedan military airport in eastern Iran, close to the border with neighboring nations.

Of particular note, the latest wave of strikes have reportedly targeted sites at Natanz – long said to be at the core of the country's nuclear programme. A global monitoring agency stated that the affected structures were used for access to the site's underground enrichment facility and that "no release of radioactive material" was anticipated.

Wider Impact and Analysis

Defense experts suggested that the attacks appeared to have "significantly degraded" the Iran's naval capability to conduct traditional warfare using its biggest vessels. But, it was emphasised that Iran still has the option to launch asymmetric warfare at sea through the use of drones, small submarines and its so-called "shadow fleet" of oil ships.

The full scope of the damage caused to Iranian military facilities has yet to be fully assessed, with strikes said to be continuing. Photos also indicates extensive damage to the headquarters of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in the city of Tehran.

A significant number of non-military structures also seem to have been hit in the capital city and throughout Iran after the fighting escalated. Reports of deaths from ground sources suggest that many hundreds of civilians may have been killed in the strikes.

As the situation develops, review of space-based data will persist to assess the unfolding military landscape.