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A series of US and Israeli attacks has according to analysis eliminated or harmed at least eleven warships belonging to Iran starting Saturday, recently obtained aerial photos reveal, with missile bases and atomic facilities also coming under fire.

Images of the southern 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 black smoke pouring from multiple vessels on the start of the week.

Naval Forces Incurred Significant Losses

Included in the vessels destroyed was the IRINS Makran, Iran's biggest warship which had functioned as a drone carrier. Satellite images indicated thick smoke pouring from the vessel which had been docked at the Bandar Abbas naval base.

Analytical assessments suggest that no fewer than five vessels at Bandar Abbas were "struck or destroyed". Pictures of the south end of the harbor depict smoke rising from the Makran, while additional vessels are visibly damaged, with one of them visibly ablaze.

At the Konarak base, images show multiple stricken ships, with intelligence reports pointing to damage to six vessels. Pictures taken on the start of the week also show that several structures at the base have been destroyed.

"For a long time the Tehran government has harassed international shipping," a senior US military official declared. "Now, there is no Iranian vessel underway in the Arabian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz or Gulf of Oman, and we will not stop."

Some vessels allegedly destroyed may have been obscured in satellite images by weather conditions or battle damage, or hit in open waters, and have yet to be fully confirmed. Additional information indicated that one Iranian ship was foundering off the coast of Sri Lankan waters, leading to a rescue operation.

Missile Installations and Atomic Facilities Attacked

Eliminating Iranian missile bases and the prevention of enrichment activities were stated as other objectives of the military strikes. Satellite images also depicted damage at the southerly Khorgu and northwestern Tabriz missile facilities, and at the Konarak air base, where weapons bunkers and fortifications were hit.

At the Choqa Balk-e drone UAV facility west of the city of Kermanshah, widespread damage was seen to storage buildings, underground facilities and unmanned aircraft systems.

Impact was also seen at a surveillance station at the Zahedan military airport in eastern parts of the country, close to the frontier with neighboring nations.

Of particular note, the most recent series of strikes have apparently targeted installations at Natanz – long said to be at the core of the country's nuclear programme. An international watchdog said that the affected structures were used for access to the site's underground enrichment facility and that "no radiological consequence" was likely.

Wider Consequences and Analysis

Observers indicated that the offensive appeared to have "greatly reduced" the Iran's naval ability to carry out standard operations using its largest warships. Nevertheless, it was noted that Tehran maintains the capacity to launch asymmetric warfare at sea through the use of unmanned aerial vehicles, small submarines and its so-called "ghost fleet" of oil ships.

The total scope of the destruction caused to Iran's defense facilities has yet to be fully assessed, with hostilities said to be persisting. Pictures also shows extensive destruction to the main offices of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in the capital Tehran.

A large number of civilian buildings also are reported to have been struck in the capital and throughout Iran after the hostilities started. Toll estimates from inside Iran suggest that hundreds of non-combatants may have been lost their lives in the attacks.

With the conflict ongoing, analysis of aerial photographs will carry on to assess the changing military landscape.