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A wave of US and Israeli attacks has allegedly sunk or crippled no fewer than eleven warships belonging to Iran since the weekend, recently obtained orbital imagery demonstrate, with launch facilities and enrichment plants also sustaining hits.

Images of the southerly Konarak naval military port and the Bandar Abbas installation, which is located on the Strait of Hormuz and contains the main command of the Iranian navy, depict black smoke pouring from several ships on recent days.

Naval Fleet Sustained Substantial Damage

Included in the ships sunk was the IRINS Makran, Iran's biggest warship which had functioned as a drone carrier. Aerial imagery displayed dark plumes rising from the vessel which had been docked at the Bandar Abbas naval base.

Intelligence evaluations indicate that no fewer than five vessels at Bandar Abbas were "hit or sunk". Imagery of the south end of the harbor depict smoke emanating from the IRINS Makran, while two other vessels seem to be harmed, with a single one seen burning.

Over at the Konarak base, photos display multiple stricken ships, with analysis identifying impacts on six ships. Images from the start of the week also indicate that multiple facilities at the installation have been demolished.

"For a long time the Iranian regime has disrupted global maritime traffic," the head of US Central Command stated. "At present, there is no Iranian vessel at sea in the Persian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz or Sea of Oman, and we will continue."

Some ships allegedly destroyed may have been obscured in satellite images by weather conditions or battle damage, or targeted offshore, and have not been conclusively proven. Other accounts indicated that one Iranian ship was going down off the coast of Sri Lanka's waters, leading to a search and rescue mission.

Missile Bases and Nuclear Facilities Attacked

The destruction of Iran's rocket sites and the hindering of nuclear weapons development were listed as other aims of the air campaign. Satellite images also depicted impacts against the southern Khorgu base and northwestern Tabriz missile facilities, and at the Konarak air base, where rocket warehouses and fortifications were hit.

At the Choqa Balk-e UAV facility west of Kermanshah, significant damage was seen to sheds, underground facilities and UAV launching apparatus.

Damage was also observed at a surveillance station at the Zahedan airbase in eastern Iran, close to the frontier with Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Of particular note, the latest wave of strikes have reportedly focused on installations at Natanz – widely believed to be at the core of the country's enrichment efforts. A global monitoring agency commented that the affected buildings were used for entry to the site's below-ground nuclear plant and that "no radiological consequence" was likely.

Broader Consequences and Analysis

Observers stated that the strikes appeared to have "largely neutralized" the Iranian navy's capability to conduct conventional attacks using its largest vessels. However, it was emphasised that Tehran maintains the capacity to launch unconventional attacks at sea through the use of drones, mini-submarines and its so-called "shadow fleet" of oil ships.

The total scope of the destruction caused to Iranian military infrastructure has yet to be fully assessed, with attacks said to be persisting. Photos also shows considerable destruction to the headquarters of the Iran's Revolutionary Guards in the capital Tehran.

A large number of public facilities also appear to have been struck in the capital city and across the country after the hostilities started. Reports of deaths from inside Iran state that hundreds of civilians may have been fatally injured in the strikes.

With the conflict ongoing, monitoring of space-based data will carry on to assess the evolving military landscape.