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A wave of American and Israeli airstrikes has reportedly destroyed or damaged a minimum of 11 Iranian naval vessels starting the weekend, new aerial photos show, with launch facilities and atomic facilities also being targeted.

Photographs of the southern Konarak naval base and the Bandar Abbas port facility, which sits on the strategic Hormuz Strait and is home to the main command of the Iran's naval force, depict smoke billowing from a number of ships on the start of the week.

Maritime Assets Incurred Substantial Damage

Among the ships sunk was the IRINS Makran, the country's largest naval vessel which had served as a drone carrier. Satellite images indicated thick smoke pouring from the ship which had been moored at the Bandar Abbas base.

Analytical evaluations indicate that at least a quintet of warships at Bandar Abbas were "damaged or eliminated". Pictures of the south end of the port show smoke rising from the IRINS Makran, while another pair of vessels are visibly damaged, with a single one seen burning.

At Konarak, images show multiple harmed vessels, with intelligence reports pointing to strikes against a half-dozen warships. Images taken on the start of the week also indicate that several structures at the base have been demolished.

"For decades the Iran's leadership has disrupted international shipping," a senior US military official stated. "Now, there is not one Iranian ship underway in the Arabian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz or Gulf of Oman, and we will not stop."

A number of vessels allegedly sunk may have been obscured in satellite images by cloud or smoke, or struck at sea, and have not been conclusively proven. Additional information stated that an Iranian vessel was going down near Sri Lanka's territorial waters, prompting a search and rescue mission.

Rocket Sites and Atomic Facilities Attacked

Neutralizing Iranian missile bases and the prevention of atomic bomb programs were listed as further aims of the offensive. Satellite images also revealed damage at the southerly Khorgu base and northwestern Tabriz missile bases, and at the Konarak air air base, where missile storage facilities and bunkers were struck.

Over at the Choqa Balk-e drone unmanned aircraft site west of the city of Kermanshah, widespread damage was identified to storage buildings, bunkers and drone launch equipment.

Destruction was also seen at a surveillance station at the Zahedan military airport in eastern Iran, near the frontier with Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Perhaps most notably, the new round of strikes have apparently hit sites at the Natanz complex – long said to be at the core of the country's nuclear programme. The UN's atomic energy body stated that the affected structures were used for entry to the facility's underground enrichment facility and that "no release of radioactive material" was expected.

Broader Impact and Assessment

Defense experts stated that the offensive appeared to have "largely neutralized" the Iranian navy's capability to sustain conventional attacks using its most significant vessels. However, it was noted that Tehran retains the ability to launch asymmetric warfare at sea through the use of drones, mini-submarines and its so-called "clandestine network" of tankers.

The full scale of the destruction caused to Iran's defense facilities has yet to be fully assessed, with strikes reportedly ongoing. Imagery also reveals widespread damage to the command center of the the IRGC in the city of Tehran.

A large number of civilian buildings also appear to have been struck in the capital city and across Iran after the conflict began. Reports of deaths from local officials state that a high number of civilians may have been fatally injured in the bombardment.

With the conflict ongoing, review of satellite imagery will continue to assess the unfolding battlefield picture.