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A wave of joint airstrikes has reportedly sunk or crippled a minimum of 11 Iranian naval vessels since the weekend, freshly analyzed satellite images show, with missile bases and nuclear sites also sustaining hits.

Images of the southern Konarak naval base and the Bandar Abbas installation, which is located on the strategic Hormuz Strait and houses the main command of the Iranian navy, reveal smoke billowing from a number of vessels on Monday and Tuesday.

Maritime Forces Incurred Major Losses

Among the ships sunk was the IRINS Makran, Iran's biggest warship which had been used as a drone carrier. Satellite images displayed dark plumes emanating from the ship which had been docked at the Bandar Abbas base.

Intelligence assessments state that no fewer than five ships at Bandar Abbas were "hit or sunk". Pictures of the southern end of the port depict smoke rising from the IRINS Makran, while another pair of vessels are visibly impacted, with one of them seen burning.

At Konarak, images show several damaged ships, with intelligence reports pointing to strikes against six vessels. Photos taken on Monday also show that several facilities at the base have been leveled.

"For many years the Iran's leadership has threatened international shipping," a senior US military official stated. "Today, there is no Iranian ship at sea in the Arabian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz or Gulf of Oman, and we will persist."

Some ships reportedly sunk may have been obscured in satellite images by cloud or smoke, or targeted offshore, and have yet to be fully confirmed. Other accounts suggested that an Iranian vessel was going down off the coast of Sri Lankan territorial waters, resulting in a search and rescue mission.

Rocket Installations and Atomic Facilities Attacked

The destruction of Iranian missile bases and the hindering of atomic bomb programs were stated as further aims of the offensive. Aerial imagery also showed damage at the southerly Khorgu and north-western Tabriz missile bases, and at the Konarak air base, where rocket warehouses and bunkers were struck.

Over at the Choqa Balk-e unmanned aircraft site west of Kermanshah, widespread damage was identified to storage buildings, bunkers and drone launch equipment.

Impact was also noted at a radar site at the Zahedan airbase military airport in eastern parts of the country, near the frontier with Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Perhaps most notably, the latest wave of strikes have apparently targeted installations at the Natanz complex – considered at the center of Iran'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 anticipated.

Broader Impact and Analysis

Military analysts suggested that the offensive appeared to have "greatly reduced" the Iranian navy's ability to carry out conventional attacks using its biggest vessels. But, it was stressed that Iran still has the capacity to launch irregular strikes at sea through the use of unmanned aerial vehicles, small submarines and its so-called "shadow fleet" of oil ships.

The full scope of the destruction caused to Iran's defense infrastructure is still uncertain, with strikes said to be continuing. Photos also indicates widespread damage to the headquarters of the Iran's Revolutionary Guards in the city of Tehran.

A large number of non-military structures also seem to have been damaged in the capital city and throughout the country after the conflict escalated. Reports of deaths from ground sources state that a high number of civilians may have been killed in the strikes.

Amid continuing hostilities, review of satellite imagery will continue to document the changing battlefield picture.