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A series of US and Israeli strikes has allegedly eliminated or harmed a minimum of 11 Iranian naval vessels starting Saturday, recently obtained aerial photos show, with rocket sites and atomic facilities also coming under fire.

Images of the southerly Konarak naval military port and the Bandar Abbas installation, which is located on the Strait of Hormuz and is home to the main command of the Iran's naval force, depict plumes of smoke rising from multiple warships on recent days.

Naval Forces Sustained Substantial Damage

Included in the targets eliminated was the IRINS Makran, the country's biggest warship which had functioned as a unmanned aerial vehicle platform. Aerial imagery indicated black smoke pouring from the ship which had been docked at the Bandar Abbas naval base.

Analytical reports indicate that at least five ships at Bandar Abbas were "struck or destroyed". Pictures of the southern part of the harbor show smoke emanating from the Makran, while another pair of ships are visibly damaged, with one of them seen burning.

Over at Konarak, images reveal multiple harmed ships, with expert review identifying strikes against six vessels. Photos taken on the start of the week also show that a number of structures at the installation have been destroyed.

"For decades the Iran's leadership has disrupted global maritime traffic," the head of US Central Command declared. "At present, there is no Iranian vessel underway in the Persian Gulf, Hormuz Strait or Gulf of Oman, and we will not stop."

A number of ships allegedly destroyed may have been hidden in aerial photos by haze or plumes, or targeted offshore, and have yet to be fully confirmed. Other accounts suggested that one Iranian ship was going down near Sri Lankan territorial waters, leading to a search and rescue mission.

Rocket Installations and Atomic Locations Attacked

Eliminating Iran's rocket sites and the prevention of nuclear weapons development were stated as additional aims of the military strikes. Aerial imagery also showed strikes on the southerly Khorgu and northwestern Tabriz facilities, and at the Konarak base, where missile storage facilities and fortifications were hit.

Over at the Choqa Balk-e drone unmanned aircraft site to the west of Kermanshah, significant destruction was seen to warehouses, bunkers and unmanned aircraft systems.

Damage was also seen at a radar site at the Zahedan airbase military airport in eastern Iran, near the frontier with Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Of particular note, the latest wave of strikes have reportedly focused on facilities at Natanz – considered at the heart of the country's nuclear programme. The UN's atomic energy body commented that the affected buildings were used for access to the facility's below-ground nuclear plant and that "no release of radioactive material" was expected.

Wider Consequences and Analysis

Defense experts suggested that the attacks appeared to have "largely neutralized" the Iranian navy's ability to sustain standard operations using its most significant vessels. Nevertheless, it was emphasised that Iran maintains the option to launch irregular strikes at sea through the use of unmanned aerial vehicles, small submarines and its so-called "ghost fleet" of tankers.

The total extent of the destruction caused to Iran's defense infrastructure is still uncertain, with strikes said to be ongoing. Pictures also reveals considerable destruction to the main offices of the the IRGC in the city of Tehran.

A large number of civilian buildings also seem to have been damaged in the capital city and throughout the country since the conflict started. Toll estimates from local officials indicate that many hundreds of civilians may have been killed in the strikes.

With the conflict ongoing, monitoring of space-based data will carry on to track the evolving scope of damage.