WAR WITH IRAN MAY START APRIL 6?
PanARMENIAN.Net
31.03.2007 14:46 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Russian intelligence has information that the
U.S. Armed Forces have nearly completed preparations for a possible
military operation against Iran, and will be ready to strike April 6,
a security official said. The attack may be explained by the capture
of 15 British sailors.
The source said the U.S. had already compiled a list of possible
targets on Iranian territory and practiced the operation during recent
exercises in the Persian Gulf.
"Russian intelligence has obtained information that the U.S. Armed
Forces stationed in the Persian Gulf have nearly completed preparations
for a missile strike against Iranian territory," the source said.
American commanders will be ready to carry out the attack in early
April, but it will be up to the country’s political leadership to
decide if and when to attack, the source said.
Official data says America’s military presence in the region has
reached the level of March 2003 when the U.S. invaded Iraq.
The U.S. has not excluded the military option in negotiations on
Iran over its refusal to abandon its nuclear program. The UN Security
Council passed a new resolution on Iran Saturday toughening economic
sanctions against the country and accepting the possibility of a
military solution to the crisis.
The source said the Pentagon could decide to conduct ground operations
as well after assessing the damage done to the Iranian forces by its
possible missile strikes and analyzing the political situation in
the country following the attacks.
A senior Russian security official cited military intelligence earlier
as saying U.S. Armed Forces had recently intensified training for
air and ground operations against Iran.
"The Pentagon has drafted a highly effective plan that will allow
the Americans to bring Iran to its knees at minimal cost," the
official said.
The attack is slated to last for 12 hours, from 4 am until 4 pm local
time. Friday is the sabbath in Iran.
In the course of the attack, code named Operation Bite, about 20
targets are marked for bombing; the list includes uranium enrichment
facilities, research centers, and laboratories.
Russian Col.-Gen. Leonid Ivashov, vice president of the Academy of
Geopolitical Sciences, said last week the Pentagon was planning to
deliver a massive air strike on Iran’s military infrastructure in
the near future.
"I have no doubt there will be an operation, or rather an aggressive
action against Iran," Ivashov said, commenting on media reports about
U.S. planned operation against Iran, codenamed Operation Bite.
A new U.S. carrier battle group has been dispatched to the Gulf. The
USS John C. Stennis, with a crew of 3,200 and around 80 fixed-wing
aircraft, including F/A-18 Hornet and Superhornet fighter-bombers,
eight support ships and four nuclear submarines are heading for the
Gulf, where a similar group led by the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower has
been deployed since December 2006. The U.S. is also sending Patriot
anti-missile systems to the region.
Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, however, was rather optimistic
about the situation and said he ruled out a military resolution of
the Iranian nuclear problem.
"We are constantly working on how to resolve the situation around
the Iranian nuclear program and other conflicts peacefully," Lavrov
said. "This policy is unchanged and we will pursue it in the future."
Russia and the U.S. are two of the six negotiators on Iran’s nuclear
program, which Tehran says is aimed at generating energy, RIA Novosti
reports.