Atack on Iran

Iran attack likely before April
U.S., Israel to destroy nuclear facilities by end of March

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G2 Headlines
Author: Joseph Farah

© 2005 G2 Bulletin
Publishing date: 22.01.2006 22:42

U.S. and Israeli military and intelligence sources say a strike against Iran is nearly inevitable before April. The incapacitation of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has made a pre-emptive attack on Iran more likely in the next nine weeks, say Israeli sources.

It was Sharon who vetoed the nearly unanimous recommendations of Israel’s generals that a quick strike was the Jewish state’s only chance at preventing Iran from building a significant nuclear arsenal. Meanwhile, in Washington, there is growing concern that Iran’s ultimate target is the U.S. Earlier this month, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards conducted a conference on the use of weapons of mass destruction – nuclear, chemical and biological. Included in those briefings were presentations on electromagnetic pulse weapons and other military technologies deemed to be under development for use against the U.S., rather than Israel or other enemies of the Islamic republic.

Even one nuclear weapon, used in an EMP-style attack on the U.S., would prove catastrophic to the nation, a congressional panel studying the vulnerability of America to electro-magnetic pulse weapons concluded last year. Such an attack would not require Iran to use long-range or intercontinental ballistic missiles, which it does not possess. But a simple Scud missile, with a nuclear warhead, could be fired from offshore and detonated above the U.S. wreaking near total devastation on the country’s technological, electrical and transportation infrastructure.

It would also have the advantage of offering Iran a degree of plausible deniability, given that “terrorists” armed with one nuclear weapon could achieve the same results. In addition, intelligence sources say three battalions of Revolutionary Guards began exercises on the use of weapons of mass destruction near Iran’s ballistic missile testing grounds. But the reason for the planned attacks in the next nine weeks has more to do with conventional military concerns than with the unconventional weapons Iran is developing.

Russia is closing in on another arms deal with Iran that would provide Tehran with upgraded fighters that could present major problems for an Israeli air force action. Russia has already concluded a $1 billion deal to sell Iran S-300 anti-missile systems, considered among the world’s best. The preparations for the attack have been long in the planning stages by both Israel and the U.S. Early last year, the U.S. announced the sale of 500 conventional bunker-buster bombs to Israel.

There is virtually no other use for these weapons except an attack against the dozens of Iranian sites that would have to be taken out to destroy Iran’s nuclear ambitions. There has even been discussion in the Pentagon about the use of tactical nuclear weapons in such an attack. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s recent bellicose statements about destroying Israel and the U.S. have also contributed to the sense of urgency.