Plan of attack on Iran

BBC:

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.

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.

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Of course the purpose of such reports is to cause concern in Iran. Like the recent "leak" of Israel's plan of attack on Iran, this one is designed to get Iran to be more reasonable at the bargaining table by showing them what they have to lose. The plan pretty well follows what I have been suggesting for any plan of attack against Iran. It is important that we destroy Iran's ability to make war. Going after all its war making infrastructure will make it much more difficult for Iran to make mischief after the attacks.

While Iran has attempted to harden its nuke facilities, it does not have the capacity to protect its other assets that way and they would be vulnerable to attack.

CNN reports that Iranian patrol boats have been probing defenses around Iraqi offshore oil rigs in recent days. Such reports show the wisdom of knocking out all of Iran's assets including her navy assets.