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A wave of American and Israeli attacks has reportedly sunk or crippled a minimum of eleven Iranian naval vessels starting Saturday, recently obtained orbital imagery show, with rocket sites and enrichment plants also being targeted.

Images of the southerly Konarak naval military port and the Bandar Abbas port facility, which sits on the strategic Hormuz Strait and houses the headquarters of the Iranian navy, depict smoke billowing from several ships on recent days.

Naval Assets Incurred Major Losses

Included in the ships sunk was the Makran, Iran's largest naval vessel which had been used as a unmanned aerial vehicle platform. Satellite images displayed black smoke rising from the vessel which had been docked at the Bandar Abbas base.

Analytical reports suggest that no fewer than a quintet of warships at Bandar Abbas were "struck or destroyed". Photos of the southern part of the port reveal smoke rising from the IRINS Makran, while another pair of vessels seem to be harmed, with one clearly on fire.

At Konarak, photos reveal multiple damaged ships, with expert review pointing to strikes against six vessels. Photos from the start of the week also indicate that multiple structures at the installation have been demolished.

"For decades the Tehran government has harassed commercial vessels," the head of US Central Command said. "At present, there is no Iranian vessel at sea in the Arabian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz or Sea of Oman, and we will not stop."

Some vessels reportedly destroyed may have been concealed in aerial photos by weather conditions or battle damage, or struck at sea, and have yet to be fully confirmed. Other accounts suggested that a ship from Iran was foundering off the coast of Sri Lanka's waters, resulting in a rescue operation.

Rocket Bases and Nuclear Facilities Attacked

Neutralizing Iranian missile bases and the prevention of nuclear weapons development were declared as additional goals of the military strikes. Satellite images also revealed damage at the southerly Khorgu base and northwestern Tabriz missile bases, and at the Konarak air base, where missile storage facilities and bunkers were struck.

Over at the Choqa Balk-e drone unmanned aircraft site to the west of the city of Kermanshah, widespread damage was observed to storage buildings, bunkers and UAV launching apparatus.

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

Perhaps most notably, the new round of attacks have apparently targeted facilities at Natanz – widely believed to be at the core of Iran's enrichment efforts. An international watchdog commented that the damaged structures were used for entry to the site's below-ground enrichment facility and that "no radiological consequence" was likely.

Wider Consequences and Assessment

Defense experts stated that the attacks appeared to have "largely neutralized" the Iranian navy's capability to sustain traditional warfare using its biggest vessels. Nevertheless, it was stressed that Tehran maintains the capacity to launch unconventional attacks at sea through the use of drones, midget subs and its so-called "shadow fleet" of oil ships.

The total scope of the destruction caused to Iran's defense facilities is still uncertain, with attacks reportedly continuing. Imagery also shows considerable destruction to the headquarters of the Iran's Revolutionary Guards in the capital Tehran.

A significant number of non-military structures also seem to have been struck in the capital city and across the country since the fighting began. Toll estimates from inside Iran state that many hundreds of non-combatants may have been fatally injured in the attacks.

Amid continuing hostilities, review of space-based data will carry on to assess the evolving military landscape.