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Multiple joint attacks has allegedly destroyed or damaged a minimum of eleven Iranian naval vessels since the weekend, new satellite images reveal, with rocket sites and nuclear sites also being targeted.

Pictures of the southerly Konarak naval military port and the Bandar Abbas port installation, which overlooks the strategic Hormuz Strait and contains the main command of the Iran's naval force, show plumes of smoke rising from a number of warships on recent days.

Maritime Forces Incurred Substantial Damage

Included in the vessels destroyed was the IRINS Makran, Iran's largest naval vessel which had served as a drone carrier. Satellite images indicated black smoke pouring from the ship which had been stationed at the Bandar Abbas naval base.

Analytical assessments indicate that no fewer than a quintet of warships at Bandar Abbas were "struck or destroyed". Photos of the south end of the port depict smoke emanating from the IRINS Makran, while additional ships seem to be harmed, with a single one visibly ablaze.

Over at the Konarak base, images show multiple harmed ships, with expert review pointing to strikes against a half-dozen warships. Pictures taken on Monday also indicate that a number of buildings at the base have been demolished.

"For many years the Iran's leadership has harassed international shipping," the head of US Central Command stated. "At present, there is no Iranian ship underway in the Persian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz or Gulf of Oman, and we will persist."

Some vessels allegedly sunk may have been hidden in satellite images by cloud or smoke, or targeted offshore, and have not been independently verified. Separate reports stated that one Iranian ship was sinking off the coast of Sri Lanka's territorial waters, leading to a rescue operation.

Missile Installations and Nuclear Locations Hit

Eliminating Iranian missile bases and the hindering of atomic bomb programs were declared as additional goals of the air campaign. Aerial imagery also showed damage at the southerly Khorgu base and northwestern Tabriz missile facilities, and at the Konarak air base, where rocket warehouses and bunkers were hit.

Over at the Choqa Balk-e drone base to the west of the city of Kermanshah, significant destruction was observed to warehouses, bunkers and UAV launching apparatus.

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

Of particular note, the new round of attacks have apparently targeted facilities at the Natanz complex – long said to be at the center of Iran's nuclear programme. A global monitoring agency said that the affected buildings were used for access to the site's underground nuclear plant and that "no radiological consequence" was anticipated.

Wider Impact and Analysis

Defense experts suggested that the offensive appeared to have "significantly degraded" the Iran's naval ability to conduct traditional warfare using its most significant warships. Nevertheless, it was noted that Tehran maintains the ability to launch irregular strikes at sea through the use of unmanned aerial vehicles, small submarines and its so-called "clandestine network" of oil ships.

The overall scope of the damage caused to Iran's defense infrastructure is still uncertain, with attacks said to be continuing. Photos also reveals extensive damage to the headquarters of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in the city of Tehran.

A large number of public facilities also are reported to have been hit in the capital and across the country after the fighting started. Casualty figures from inside Iran state that many hundreds of civilians may have been fatally injured in the bombardment.

As the situation develops, review of aerial photographs will carry on to document the unfolding battlefield picture.