Newspaper alleges U.S. drawing up plans to attack Iran
{{date|February 12, 2006}}

The [[United Kingdom|British]] newspaper {{w|Sunday Telegraph}} has reported on alleged plans for a [[United States|U.S.]] attack on [[Iran]].  The plans were allegedly made in retaliation for Iran's uranium enrichment program due to suspicions that it is for military application in the development of {{w|Iran and weapons of mass destruction|anchor=Nuclear weapons|nuclear weapons}}.

The paper has also reported that the alleged plans to attack Iran may be a possible motivation for the development of nuclear weapons by Iran; there have been other {{w|2005-2006 US-Israeli threats to attack Iran|threats}} of military response by both the U.S. and {{w|Israel}}.
[[Image:Iran_map.png|right|frame|The nation of Iran. Graphic from the CIA World Factbook]]
On February 12, 2006, the Sunday Telegraph claimed that strategists at the {{w|Pentagon}} are "drawing up plans for devastating bombing raids backed by submarine-launched ballistic missile attacks against Iran's nuclear sites" as '"a last resort" for the situation. 

The newspaper also claims that preparations are extremely active, stating, "Central Command and Strategic Command planners are identifying targets, assessing weapon-loads and working on logistics for an operation,".

Assessments of the time scale for {{w|Iran and weapons of mass destruction|anchor=Nuclear weapons|Iran to possibly develop nuclear weapons}} include three to ten years.  According to the {{w|Centre for Nonproliferation Studies}}, cities likely to be targets because of their alleged role in nuclear weapons development include medium-size towns such as {{w|Bushehr}} or Bushire (بوشهر), population estimated as 165,000 (2005) and {{w|Arak, Iran|Arak}} with a population of about 511,000 (2005) and the small mountain town of {{w|Natanz}}. 

Just a few days earlier, an InterPress Service article by Gareth Porter reported that two ex-[[CIA]] operatives, Paul Pillar and Ellen Laipson, as saying that one of the main reasons motivating Iran to move towards developing nuclear weapons was the belief in a {{w|2005-2006 US-Israeli threats to attack Iran|threat of attack by the United States and/or Israel}}.

According to this InterPress Service report, ex-CIA official Paul Pillar led the preparation of all National Intelligence Estimates (NIEs) on Iran from 2000 to 2005 in his role as national intelligence officer for the Near East and South Asia, and told the InterPress Service that all of the NIEs on Iran during that period "addressed the Iranian fears of U.S. attack explicitly and related their desire for nuclear weapons to those fears" and furthermore that "Iranian perceptions of threat, especially from the United States and Israel, were not the only factor, but were in our judgment part of what drove whatever effort they were making to build nuclear weapons."

Ellen Laipson, the other ex-CIA official also stated, "the Iranian fear of an attack by the United States has long been a standard element in NIEs <nowiki>[National Intelligence Estimates]</nowiki> on Iran."

Just a few weeks earlier, on January 25, 2006, former UN weapons inspector {{w|Hans Blix}} recommended that the United States give a similar commitment not to attack Iran with either conventional or nuclear weapons, just as it apparently has given to {{w|North Korea}}, stating, "regime changes, we know, from the outside are not that much of a panacea. So I think <nowiki>[the United States]</nowiki> should contemplate similar offers to Iran as they have to North Korea."

==Related news==
*{{wikinews|title=Iran demands that IAEA end surveillance of its nuclear program|date=February 7, 2006}}
*{{wikinews|title=Iran reported to U.N. Security Council|date=February 4, 2006}}
*{{wikinews|title=Iran promises retaliation for Israeli action against nuclear facilities|date=January 26, 2006}}
*{{wikinews|title=Syria voices support of Iran's nuclear program|date=January 16, 2006}}
*{{wikinews|title=Iran to end nuclear cooperation|date=January 14, 2006}}

==Sources==
*{{source|url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/5922_1624083,0015002500000000.htm
|title=‘US will hit Iran if talks fail'
|author=Hindustan Times
|pub=Hindustan Times
|date=February 12, 2006}}
*{{source|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/02/12/wiran12.xml
|title=US prepares military blitz against Iran's nuclear sites
|author=Philip Sherwell
|pub=Telegraph (UK)
|date=February 12, 2006}}
*{{source|url=http://cns.miis.edu/pubs/week/040812.htm
|title=A Preemptive Attack on Iran's Nuclear Facilities: Possible Consequences
|author=Sammy Salama, Karen Ruster
|pub=Centre for Nonproliferation Studies
|date=September 9, 2004}}
*{{source|url=http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?itemid=9700
|title=Fear of U.S. Drove Iran's Nuclear Policy
|author=Gareth Porter
|pub= InterPress Service
|date=February 10, 2006}}
*{{source|url=http://www.armscontrol.org/events/20060125_transcript_blix.asp
|title=Repairing the Nonproliferation System
|author=Hans Blix
|pub=Arms Control Association
|date=January 25, 2006}}

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[[Category:United States]]
[[Category:Iran]]
[[Category:Politics and conflicts]]
[[Category:Nuclear proliferation]]
[[Category:CIA]]
[[Category:North America]]
[[Category:Middle East]]
[[Category:Nuclear weapons]]

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The British newspaper U.S. attack on Iran.  The plans were allegedly made in retaliation for Iran's uranium enrichment program due to suspicions that it is for military application in the development of
United States Iran Politics and conflicts Nuclear proliferation CIA North America Middle East Nuclear weapons