Reports stoke speculation about attack on Iran nukes

AP
Reports in Israeli and British newspapers are heightening speculation about whether Israel and the United States are planning for a possible attack on Iran's nuclear facilities.

Citing a senior Israeli official, Haaretz writes that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak are "trying to muster a majority in the Cabinet in favor of military action." They recently persuaded Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman to back such action, a reversal of his position.

Following up, the Associated Press has a similar report, noting it comes as Israel announced it had tested a long-range missile that would be capable of reaching Iran. But AP adds that it "remained unclear whether Israel was genuinely poised to strike or if it was saber-rattling to prod the international community into taking a tougher line on Iran."

In London, the Guardian, citing military and political officials, reports that British forces "are stepping up their contingency planning for potential military action against Iran amid mounting concern about Tehran's nuclear enrichment program."

The Guardian writes:

The Ministry of Defence believes the US may decide to fast-forward plans for targeted missile strikes at some key Iranian facilities. British officials say that if Washington presses ahead it will seek, and receive, UK military help for any mission, despite some deep reservations within the coalition government.

In anticipation of a potential attack, British military planners are examining where best to deploy Royal Navy ships and submarines equipped with Tomahawk cruise missiles over the coming months as part of what would be an air and sea campaign.

They also believe the US would ask permission to launch attacks from Diego Garcia, the British Indian ocean territory, which the Americans have used previously for conflicts in the Middle East.

The Guardian's sources "made clear that Barack Obama has no wish to embark on a new and provocative military venture before next November's presidential election. But they warned the calculations could change because of mounting anxiety over intelligence gathered by Western agencies, and the more belligerent posture that Iran appears to have been taking."

Here's how the conservative National Review frames the latest reports:

Are these unsubstantiated or exaggerated rumors being stirred by the media or by Netanyahu's enemies, or is the Netanyahu government seriously contemplating going to war? The answer may be both.

In Tehran, a top military official warned of a "crushing response" to any attack.

"Today Iran's powerful forces are stronger than the past and the alien forces are well aware that any illegal and adventurist action against the Islamic Republic will face a crushing response," Gen. Mohammad Hejazi, deputy head of the General Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces for Logistic and Industrial Research, told the semi-official FARS news agency.

Amid what it called "intensified threats by the U.S. and its Zionist ally," FARS goes on to report that "Iranian commanders said the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps now enjoy the capability to hit all U.S. vessels and bases in the region."

Source: USA TODAY