US 'Iran attack plans' revealed (BBC exclusive)

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.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/h...st/6376639.stm

Published: 2007/02/19 23:26:26 GMT

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Bush all set to attack Iran: Report

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