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A series of joint airstrikes has reportedly sunk or crippled a minimum of 11 Iran's navy ships starting the weekend, recently obtained orbital imagery reveal, with launch facilities and nuclear sites also sustaining hits.

Photographs of the southerly Konarak military port and the Bandar Abbas port installation, which overlooks the strategic Hormuz Strait and contains the headquarters of the Iran's naval force, show black smoke pouring from several ships on recent days.

Naval Fleet Incurred Substantial Losses

Included in the ships sunk was the IRINS Makran, the country's most sizable ship which had functioned as a drone carrier. Satellite images displayed thick smoke rising from the vessel which had been stationed at the Bandar Abbas naval base.

Analytical assessments indicate that no fewer than a quintet of warships at the port were "damaged or eliminated". Imagery of the southern end of the harbor reveal smoke emanating from the Makran, while two other ships appear to be damaged, with one clearly on fire.

Over at the Konarak base, photos display several damaged vessels, with analysis identifying impacts on a half-dozen warships. Pictures from Monday also indicate that several buildings at the base have been demolished.

"For many years the Iranian regime has threatened international shipping," a senior US military official stated. "Now, there is not a single Iranian ship operational in the Persian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz or Sea of Oman, and we will persist."

Some ships reportedly sunk may have been hidden in aerial photos by cloud or smoke, or struck at sea, and have not been conclusively proven. Separate reports indicated that a ship from Iran was foundering near Sri Lankan waters, resulting in a rescue operation.

Missile Sites and Nuclear Locations Attacked

Neutralizing Tehran's launch facilities and the stopping atomic bomb programs were stated as additional objectives of the offensive. Aerial imagery also depicted strikes on the southerly Khorgu base and north-western Tabriz missile missile bases, and at the Konarak air air base, where missile storage facilities and bunkers were targeted.

At the Choqa Balk-e drone base to the west of Kermanshah, extensive damage was observed to warehouses, underground facilities and UAV launching apparatus.

Damage was also observed at a surveillance station at the Zahedan airbase military airport in eastern parts of the country, near the frontier with neighboring nations.

Of particular note, the new round of attacks have apparently hit sites at the Natanz complex – long said to be at the core of Iran's enrichment efforts. An international watchdog commented that the affected buildings were used for entry to the site's underground nuclear plant and that "no nuclear fallout" was expected.

Broader Fallout and Analysis

Military analysts suggested that the strikes appeared to have "significantly degraded" the Iran's naval ability to conduct traditional warfare using its largest warships. But, it was emphasised that Iran maintains the option to launch asymmetric warfare at sea through the use of drones, small submarines and its so-called "shadow fleet" of oil ships.

The overall scale of the destruction caused to Iran's defense facilities is still uncertain, with strikes said to be continuing. Imagery also indicates extensive damage to the headquarters of the Iran's Revolutionary Guards in the capital Tehran.

Numerous of civilian buildings also seem to have been damaged in the capital and throughout Iran since the fighting began. Reports of deaths from local officials state that many hundreds of non-combatants may have been fatally injured in the strikes.

Amid continuing hostilities, analysis of satellite imagery will carry on to assess the evolving battlefield picture.