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A series of US and Israeli attacks has reportedly sunk or crippled a minimum of eleven warships belonging to Iran starting the weekend, new orbital imagery show, with launch facilities and enrichment plants also coming under fire.

Images of the southerly Konarak naval base and the Bandar Abbas installation, which sits on the Strait of Hormuz and contains the main command of the Iran's naval force, reveal plumes of smoke rising from several warships on the start of the week.

Maritime Fleet Sustained Substantial Losses

Included in the vessels destroyed was the Makran, the country's most sizable ship which had been used as a drone carrier. Satellite images displayed thick smoke rising from the vessel which had been stationed at the Bandar Abbas naval base.

Intelligence evaluations indicate that at least a quintet of warships at Bandar Abbas were "hit or sunk". Imagery of the southern end of the harbor depict smoke rising from the IRINS Makran, while additional vessels are visibly impacted, with one clearly on fire.

Over at Konarak, photos show several damaged ships, with intelligence reports pointing to damage to a half-dozen warships. Photos taken on the start of the week also show that a number of facilities at the base have been destroyed.

"For decades the Iran's leadership has harassed international shipping," a senior US military official said. "At present, there is not one Iranian vessel at sea in the Arabian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz or Gulf of Oman, and we will continue."

Some ships allegedly destroyed may have been concealed in satellite images by weather conditions or battle damage, or targeted offshore, and have not been conclusively proven. Additional information stated that one Iranian ship was foundering off the coast of Sri Lankan waters, prompting a rescue operation.

Rocket Sites and Nuclear Facilities Attacked

Eliminating Tehran's launch facilities and the stopping enrichment activities were listed as further aims of the offensive. Aerial imagery also revealed strikes on the southern Khorgu and north-western Tabriz missile bases, and at the Konarak air base, where weapons bunkers and bunkers were hit.

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

Destruction was also noted at a surveillance station at the Zahedan airbase airbase in eastern Iran, near the border with Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Significantly, the most recent series of strikes have apparently hit installations at the Natanz complex – widely believed to be at the core of Iran's nuclear programme. The UN's atomic energy body stated that the damaged buildings were used for access to the facility's below-ground nuclear plant and that "no release of radioactive material" was likely.

Broader Impact and Analysis

Observers indicated that the offensive appeared to have "greatly reduced" the Iran's naval ability to carry out standard operations using its most significant warships. But, it was stressed that Iran still has the capacity to launch asymmetric warfare at sea through the use of drones, midget subs and its so-called "shadow fleet" of tankers.

The overall extent of the damage caused to Iranian military facilities is still uncertain, with attacks reportedly persisting. Pictures also reveals considerable destruction to the headquarters of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in the city of Tehran.

Numerous of non-military structures also are reported to have been struck in the capital and across Iran after the hostilities escalated. Toll estimates from local officials indicate that hundreds of civilians may have been fatally injured in the strikes.

As the situation develops, monitoring of space-based data will carry on to assess the changing scope of damage.