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A series of joint attacks has allegedly sunk or crippled a minimum of 11 Iran's navy ships starting the weekend, new orbital imagery reveal, with missile bases and atomic facilities also coming under fire.

Pictures of the southerly Konarak naval naval base and the Bandar Abbas installation, which overlooks the strategic Hormuz Strait and houses the main command of the Iran's naval force, depict smoke billowing from a number of vessels on the start of the week.

Maritime Assets Sustained Significant Losses

Among the vessels destroyed was the Makran, the country's biggest warship which had functioned as a drone carrier. Orbital photos indicated black smoke rising from the ship which had been docked at the Bandar Abbas base.

Analytical evaluations suggest that no fewer than a quintet of warships at the port were "damaged or eliminated". Imagery of the south end of the harbor depict plumes ascending from the Makran, while another pair of ships seem to be harmed, with one of them clearly on fire.

Over at Konarak, images display numerous stricken vessels, with analysis identifying damage to a half-dozen warships. Pictures taken on the start of the week also show that multiple buildings at the installation have been leveled.

"For many years the Tehran government has disrupted global maritime traffic," an American commander declared. "At present, there is not one Iranian vessel at sea in the Persian Gulf, Hormuz Strait or Sea of Oman, and we will not stop."

A number of ships allegedly destroyed may have been hidden in satellite images by weather conditions or battle damage, or hit in open waters, and have not been independently verified. Additional information indicated that a ship from Iran was foundering near Sri Lanka's territorial waters, leading to a rescue operation.

Missile Bases and Nuclear Facilities Attacked

The destruction of Iranian missile bases and the prevention of atomic bomb programs were listed as additional aims of the air campaign. Aerial imagery also depicted damage at the southern Khorgu 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 UAV facility west of Kermanshah, extensive damage was observed to warehouses, underground facilities and unmanned aircraft systems.

Damage was also seen at a surveillance station at the Zahedan airbase in eastern Iran, near the frontier with neighboring nations.

Of particular note, the latest wave of attacks have apparently targeted sites at Natanz – widely believed to be at the center of the country's nuclear programme. A global monitoring agency stated that the damaged buildings were used for access to the site's below-ground nuclear plant and that "no nuclear fallout" was expected.

Wider Impact and Analysis

Observers stated that the strikes appeared to have "largely neutralized" the Iran's naval capacity to sustain standard operations using its largest warships. However, it was stressed that Iran maintains the ability to launch asymmetric warfare at sea through the use of drones, midget subs and its so-called "ghost fleet" of oil ships.

The full scope of the damage caused to Iranian military facilities remains unclear, with attacks reportedly persisting. Photos also reveals considerable damage to the headquarters of the Iran's Revolutionary Guards in the city of Tehran.

A large number of non-military structures also are reported to have been hit in the capital city and across Iran after the fighting escalated. Toll estimates from inside Iran suggest that hundreds of civilians may have been killed in the strikes.

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