Bush's Iran 'attack plan'
GEORGE Bush will launch missiles against Iran if it is proved to be behind attacks on US soldiers in Iraq, it was claimed last night.
He has ordered plans for air strikes to disable Iran’s entire military structure, the BBC said.
Senior officials in Washington have pinpointed targets including missile bases, command and control centres and air defences.
Action would also be triggered if Tehran is close to developing nuclear weapons.
The Beeb claimed military action would be masterminded from Central Command in Florida.
Four nuclear sites would also be hit. US military strategists claimed the air attacks could be carried out without affecting ongoing missions in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Some 30 US warships are already in the Gulf.
Washington insisted last night it was NOT planning military strikes.
But the contingency plans put greater diplomatic pressure on Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Mr Bush believes Iran is arming insurgents in Iraq but has yet to prove the link.
Professor Anthony Cordesman, of the Centre of Strategic Studies, said: “About 75 per cent of US military resources could easily be mobilised and used against Iran without affecting the campaign in Afghanistan and Iraq in a significant way.”
But Sir Richard Dalton, the British ambassador to Iran from 2002 to 2006, said an attack would backfire badly and would probably encourage the Iranian government to develop a nuclear weapon in the long term.
He said: “The only circumstances which would justify an attack on Iran would be if there was an imminent threat and that's not the case at present.”
Meanwhile, the United Nations warned Iran could be just six months away from enriching uranium — a key step in building a nuclear bomb.
http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2007080330,00.html
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US 'Iran attack plans' revealed
US contingency plans for air strikes on Iran extend beyond nuclear sites and include most of the country's military infrastructure, the BBC has learned.
It is understood that any such attack - if ordered - would target Iranian air bases, naval bases, missile facilities and command-and-control centres.
The US insists it is not planning to attack, and is trying to persuade Tehran to stop uranium enrichment.
The UN has urged Iran to stop the programme or face economic sanctions.
But diplomatic sources have told the BBC that as a fallback plan, senior officials at Central Command in Florida have already selected their target sets inside Iran.
That list includes Iran's uranium enrichment plant at Natanz. Facilities at Isfahan, Arak and Bushehr are also on the target list, the sources say.
Two triggers
BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner says the trigger for such an attack reportedly includes any confirmation that Iran was developing a nuclear weapon - which it denies.
Alternatively, our correspondent adds, a high-casualty attack on US forces in neighbouring Iraq could also trigger a bombing campaign if it were traced directly back to Tehran.
Long range B2 stealth bombers would drop so-called "bunker-busting" bombs in an effort to penetrate the Natanz site, which is buried some 25m (27 yards) underground.
The BBC's Tehran correspondent France Harrison says the news that there are now two possible triggers for an attack is a concern to Iranians.
Authorities insist there is no cause for alarm but ordinary people are now becoming a little worried, she says.
Deadline
Earlier this month US officials said they had evidence Iran was providing weapons to Iraqi Shia militias. At the time, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said the accusations were "excuses to prolong the stay" of US forces in Iraq.
Middle East analysts have recently voiced their fears of catastrophic consequences for any such US attack on Iran.
Britain's previous ambassador to Tehran, Sir Richard Dalton, told the BBC it would backfire badly by probably encouraging the Iranian government to develop a nuclear weapon in the long term.
Last year Iran resumed uranium enrichment - a process that can make fuel for power stations or, if greatly enriched, material for a nuclear bomb.
Tehran insists its programme is for civil use only, but Western countries suspect Iran is trying to build nuclear weapons.
The UN Security Council has called on Iran to suspend its enrichment of uranium by 21 February.
If it does not, and if the International Atomic Energy Agency confirms this, the resolution says that further economic sanctions will be considered.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6376639.stm
