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A series of US and Israeli attacks has reportedly destroyed or damaged no fewer than eleven Iranian naval vessels since the weekend, new aerial photos show, with rocket sites and nuclear sites also sustaining hits.

Photographs of the southerly Konarak military port and the Bandar Abbas port facility, which overlooks the Strait of Hormuz and houses the main command of the Iranian navy, show black smoke pouring from a number of warships on Monday and Tuesday.

Maritime Assets Sustained Substantial Damage

Among the vessels destroyed was the Makran, the country's largest naval vessel which had been used as a drone carrier. Orbital photos displayed thick smoke emanating from the vessel which had been moored at the Bandar Abbas naval base.

Intelligence assessments indicate that no fewer than a quintet of warships at the port were "struck or destroyed". Photos of the south end of the harbor show smoke rising from the IRINS Makran, while additional vessels seem to be harmed, with one of them visibly ablaze.

At Konarak, images reveal multiple damaged ships, with expert review pointing to impacts on six vessels. Pictures taken on the start of the week also demonstrate that a number of facilities at the base have been leveled.

"For decades the Iranian regime has harassed international shipping," an American commander declared. "Today, there is no Iranian vessel at sea in the Arabian Gulf, Hormuz Strait or Gulf of Oman, and we will continue."

A number of ships reportedly sunk may have been hidden in aerial photos by cloud or smoke, or struck at sea, and have not been independently verified. Other accounts indicated that a ship from Iran was foundering near Sri Lankan territorial waters, leading to a search and rescue mission.

Missile Installations and Nuclear Locations Attacked

The destruction of Tehran's launch facilities and the prevention of nuclear weapons development were stated as additional goals of the air campaign. Aerial imagery also depicted strikes on the southerly Khorgu and north-western Tabriz missile missile bases, and at the Konarak air air base, where weapons bunkers and fortifications were struck.

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

Impact was also observed at a radar site at the Zahedan military airport in eastern parts of the country, near the frontier with neighboring nations.

Of particular note, the latest wave of attacks have apparently hit facilities at Natanz – widely believed to be at the core of Iran's atomic program. An international watchdog said that the damaged structures were used for entry to the site's below-ground nuclear plant and that "no release of radioactive material" was likely.

Wider Consequences and Assessment

Defense experts stated that the strikes appeared to have "largely neutralized" the Iran's naval capacity to sustain conventional attacks using its most significant vessels. Nevertheless, it was emphasised that Tehran still has the capacity to launch irregular strikes at sea through the use of drones, midget subs and its so-called "clandestine network" of oil ships.

The full extent of the damage caused to Iranian military facilities is still uncertain, with hostilities reportedly persisting. Imagery also reveals widespread 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 struck in the capital city and across Iran after the hostilities began. Casualty figures from ground sources state that many hundreds of civilians may have been fatally injured in the bombardment.

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