Aerial Pictures Indicate Iranian Naval Forces and Nuclear Facilities Hit by American and Israeli Strikes.

Multiple US and Israeli strikes has allegedly sunk or crippled a minimum of 11 warships belonging to Iran since the weekend, new orbital imagery show, with missile bases and enrichment plants also coming under fire.

Photographs of the southerly Konarak military port and the Bandar Abbas port installation, which overlooks the strategic Hormuz Strait and houses the headquarters of the Iran's naval force, reveal black smoke pouring from a number of ships on Monday and Tuesday.

Naval Assets Incurred Major Losses

Among the ships sunk was the Makran, the country's most sizable ship which had functioned as a drone carrier. Aerial imagery showed dark plumes pouring from the vessel which had been docked at the Bandar Abbas naval base.

Intelligence evaluations indicate that no fewer than a quintet of warships at Bandar Abbas were "hit or sunk". Photos of the southern part of the harbor reveal smoke rising from the IRINS Makran, while additional vessels are visibly damaged, with one clearly on fire.

Over at Konarak, photos reveal multiple damaged vessels, with expert review identifying impacts on six ships. Images from the start of the week also indicate that multiple buildings at the base have been leveled.

"For decades the Tehran government has harassed global maritime traffic," the head of US Central Command said. "At present, there is not one vessel from Iran at sea in the Arabian Gulf, Hormuz Strait or Gulf of Oman, and we will persist."

Some vessels allegedly 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 an Iranian vessel was sinking off the coast of Sri Lankan waters, resulting in a rescue operation.

Missile Sites and Nuclear Locations Targeted

Eliminating Tehran's launch facilities and the hindering of atomic bomb programs were listed as other objectives of the offensive. Satellite images also showed damage at the southern Khorgu base and northwestern Tabriz missile facilities, and at the Konarak base, where missile storage facilities and fortifications were hit.

At the Choqa Balk-e drone base to the west of the city of Kermanshah, widespread destruction was observed to storage buildings, underground facilities and UAV launching apparatus.

Destruction was also observed at a radar site at the Zahedan airbase airbase in eastern parts of the country, close to the frontier with Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Perhaps most notably, the most recent series of strikes have reportedly focused on sites at Natanz – considered at the heart of the country's nuclear programme. The UN's atomic energy body said that the affected structures were used for access to the facility's underground nuclear plant and that "no radiological consequence" was expected.

Broader Impact and Analysis

Observers suggested that the strikes appeared to have "greatly reduced" the Iran's naval capability to conduct traditional warfare using its biggest vessels. But, it was emphasised that Iran retains the option to launch asymmetric warfare at sea through the use of unmanned aerial vehicles, mini-submarines and its so-called "ghost fleet" of tankers.

The full scope of the damage caused to Iranian military infrastructure has yet to be fully assessed, with strikes said to be persisting. Pictures also indicates considerable destruction to the main offices of the Iran's Revolutionary Guards in the capital Tehran.

A significant number of civilian buildings also are reported to have been hit in the capital city and throughout the country since the fighting began. Toll estimates from inside Iran indicate that hundreds of non-combatants may have been fatally injured in the attacks.

As the situation develops, review of aerial photographs will continue to assess the changing military landscape.