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A series of US and Israeli airstrikes has allegedly destroyed or damaged no fewer than 11 warships belonging to Iran starting Saturday, freshly analyzed aerial photos reveal, with rocket sites and nuclear sites also sustaining hits.

Images of the southerly Konarak naval base and the Bandar Abbas port installation, which overlooks the strategic Hormuz Strait and houses the headquarters of the Iran's naval force, show plumes of smoke rising from a number of warships on recent days.

Maritime Forces Incurred Major Losses

Among the ships sunk was the IRINS Makran, Iran's most sizable ship which had functioned as a unmanned aerial vehicle platform. Satellite images indicated thick smoke rising from the ship which had been stationed at the Bandar Abbas naval base.

Analytical reports suggest that no fewer than five ships at the port were "hit or sunk". Imagery of the south end of the port depict smoke emanating from the IRINS Makran, while two other vessels are visibly impacted, with one visibly ablaze.

Over at Konarak, images display several damaged vessels, with expert review identifying impacts on six vessels. Pictures taken on Monday also demonstrate that a number of facilities at the base have been destroyed.

"For decades the Iran's leadership has harassed international shipping," the head of US Central Command stated. "At present, there is not a single Iranian ship at sea in the Arabian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz or Gulf of Oman, and we will persist."

Some vessels reportedly sunk may have been concealed in aerial photos by cloud or smoke, or struck at sea, and have not been independently verified. Other accounts stated that an Iranian vessel was going down off the coast of Sri Lanka's territorial waters, prompting a search and rescue mission.

Missile Sites and Nuclear Facilities Targeted

Neutralizing Tehran's launch facilities and the prevention of atomic bomb programs were listed as further goals of the air campaign. Aerial imagery also showed impacts against the southern Khorgu and north-western Tabriz missile facilities, and at the Konarak air base, where missile storage facilities and bunkers were targeted.

Over at the Choqa Balk-e UAV facility west of Kermanshah, significant damage was observed to sheds, bunkers and UAV launching apparatus.

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

Of particular note, the most recent series of attacks have apparently focused on installations at the Natanz complex – considered at the center of the country's nuclear programme. The UN's atomic energy body said that the damaged structures were used for entry to the facility's below-ground enrichment facility and that "no radiological consequence" was anticipated.

Wider Impact and Assessment

Military analysts suggested that the strikes appeared to have "largely neutralized" the Iran's naval capacity to carry out standard operations using its biggest warships. But, it was stressed that Iran still has the capacity to launch asymmetric warfare at sea through the use of drones, small submarines and its so-called "clandestine network" of oil ships.

The full scope of the destruction caused to Iran's defense infrastructure is still uncertain, with strikes reportedly continuing. Imagery also reveals extensive destruction to the main offices of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in the capital Tehran.

A significant number of non-military structures also appear to have been hit in the capital city and throughout the country after the conflict escalated. Reports of deaths from inside Iran indicate that many hundreds of civilians may have been killed in the attacks.

With the conflict ongoing, analysis of space-based data will persist to document the unfolding battlefield picture.