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A wave of joint airstrikes has reportedly sunk or crippled no fewer than 11 warships belonging to Iran starting Saturday, new orbital imagery show, with rocket sites and atomic facilities also being targeted.

Photographs of the southerly Konarak military port and the Bandar Abbas port facility, which is located on the Strait of Hormuz and is home to the headquarters of the Iranian navy, reveal black smoke pouring from multiple ships on the start of the week.

Naval Assets Sustained Major Damage

Among the vessels destroyed was the Makran, the country's largest naval vessel which had been used as a drone carrier. Satellite images displayed dark plumes emanating from the vessel which had been stationed at the Bandar Abbas naval base.

Analytical evaluations state that no fewer than five vessels at Bandar Abbas were "struck or destroyed". Pictures of the southern end of the harbor reveal smoke rising from the IRINS Makran, while additional vessels are visibly harmed, with one of them visibly ablaze.

Over at Konarak, images reveal numerous damaged ships, with intelligence reports identifying strikes against a half-dozen warships. Pictures from Monday also show that a number of facilities at the installation have been destroyed.

"For many years the Tehran government has disrupted international shipping," a senior US military official declared. "At present, there is not a single Iranian vessel underway in the Persian Gulf, Hormuz Strait or Gulf of Oman, and we will persist."

Some vessels allegedly destroyed may have been obscured in aerial photos by cloud or smoke, or struck at sea, and have yet to be fully confirmed. Additional information indicated that an Iranian vessel was foundering off the coast of Sri Lankan territorial waters, resulting in a search and rescue mission.

Missile Bases and Nuclear Locations Attacked

Eliminating Iran's rocket sites and the hindering of nuclear weapons development were declared as additional goals of the offensive. Satellite images also revealed strikes on the southern Khorgu base and north-western Tabriz missile facilities, and at the Konarak air base, where rocket warehouses and fortifications were hit.

Over at the Choqa Balk-e drone base west of Kermanshah, widespread damage was seen to warehouses, bunkers and UAV launching apparatus.

Destruction 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.

Significantly, the new round of strikes have reportedly hit installations at Natanz – long said to be at the core of Iran's nuclear programme. The UN's atomic energy body stated that the damaged structures were used for entry to the facility's below-ground enrichment facility and that "no nuclear fallout" was expected.

Broader Impact and Analysis

Military analysts suggested that the offensive appeared to have "greatly reduced" the Iranian navy's ability to carry out standard operations using its most significant warships. However, it was emphasised that Iran maintains the ability to launch unconventional attacks at sea through the use of unmanned aerial vehicles, mini-submarines and its so-called "ghost fleet" of oil ships.

The full scope of the damage caused to Iran's defense infrastructure remains unclear, with attacks said to be ongoing. Pictures also indicates extensive damage to the headquarters of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in the city of Tehran.

A significant number of civilian buildings also are reported to have been hit in the capital and across the country since the fighting started. Reports of deaths from ground sources indicate that hundreds of non-combatants may have been killed in the strikes.

With the conflict ongoing, review of satellite imagery will persist to assess the unfolding scope of damage.