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A wave of US and Israeli attacks has allegedly sunk or crippled no fewer than eleven Iran's navy ships since the weekend, recently obtained satellite images reveal, with rocket sites and atomic facilities also being targeted.

Photographs of the southerly Konarak naval naval base and the Bandar Abbas port facility, which is located on the Strait of Hormuz and contains the main command of the Iranian navy, depict black smoke pouring from multiple warships on recent days.

Naval Forces Sustained Significant Damage

Included in the vessels destroyed was the Makran, Iran's most sizable ship which had functioned as a unmanned aerial vehicle platform. Satellite images indicated thick smoke pouring from the ship which had been stationed at the Bandar Abbas base.

Intelligence assessments state that no fewer than five vessels at the port were "hit or sunk". Pictures of the southern part of the harbor reveal smoke emanating from the IRINS Makran, while two other ships appear to be harmed, with one seen burning.

Over at the Konarak base, images reveal several damaged vessels, with intelligence reports pointing to strikes against six ships. Images taken on the start of the week also show that multiple structures at the base have been demolished.

"For decades the Iranian regime has harassed international shipping," an American commander stated. "At present, there is not a single Iranian vessel underway in the Arabian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz or Sea of Oman, and we will persist."

A number of vessels reportedly destroyed may have been concealed in aerial photos by cloud or smoke, or struck at sea, and have yet to be fully confirmed. Additional information suggested that a ship from Iran was sinking off the coast of Sri Lankan territorial waters, prompting a search and rescue mission.

Rocket Installations and Atomic Facilities Targeted

Eliminating Iranian missile bases and the hindering of nuclear weapons development were stated as other goals of the military strikes. Aerial imagery also depicted strikes on the southerly Khorgu base and north-western Tabriz facilities, and at the Konarak air base, where rocket warehouses and bunkers were targeted.

At the Choqa Balk-e drone unmanned aircraft site to the west of Kermanshah, significant damage was seen to storage buildings, bunkers and drone launch equipment.

Destruction was also observed at a radar site at the Zahedan airbase in eastern parts of the country, near the border with neighboring nations.

Significantly, the latest wave of attacks have apparently targeted facilities at the Natanz complex – widely believed to be at the heart of Iran's nuclear programme. An international watchdog commented that the affected structures were used for entry to the facility's below-ground nuclear plant and that "no release of radioactive material" was expected.

Wider Impact and Assessment

Defense experts suggested that the attacks appeared to have "largely neutralized" the Iranian navy's capacity to conduct conventional attacks using its most significant vessels. But, it was stressed that Tehran still has the capacity to launch asymmetric warfare at sea through the use of unmanned aerial vehicles, mini-submarines and its so-called "clandestine network" of oil ships.

The full scale of the destruction caused to Iran's defense facilities has yet to be fully assessed, with strikes reportedly continuing. Pictures also shows extensive destruction to the command center of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in the city of Tehran.

A significant number of civilian buildings also appear to have been struck in the capital and throughout the country since the hostilities started. Casualty figures from local officials state that many hundreds of non-combatants may have been lost their lives in the bombardment.

Amid continuing hostilities, monitoring of satellite imagery will carry on to assess the unfolding battlefield picture.