SUNDAY TIMES

US plans to hit Iran N-sites
From correspondents in Washington
13feb06
THE Pentagon is drawing up plans for bombing raids backed by submarine-launched ballistic missile attacks against Iran's nuclear sites as a last resort to block Tehran's efforts to develop an atomic bomb, The Sunday Telegraph reported in Britain yesterday.

The paper said US Central Command and Strategic Command planners were "identifying targets, assessing weapon-loads and working on logistics for an operation" against Iran.

The planners are reporting to the office of US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, with a view to having a military option if diplomatic efforts fail to put the brakes on Iran's suspected push for nuclear weapons.

"This is more than just the standard military contingency assessment," The Sunday Telegraph quoted a senior Pentagon adviser as saying. "This has taken on much greater urgency in recent months."

The flow of disclosures about Iran's nuclear operations and the virulent anti-Israeli threats of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has prompted the new assessment of military options by Washington, the report said. The most likely strategy would involve aerial bombardment of Iran by long-distance B2 bombers, each armed with up to 18,000kg of precision weapons, including the latest bunker-busting devices.

They would fly from bases in Missouri, with mid-air refuelling.

The Bush administration has recently announced plans to add conventional ballistic missiles to the armoury of its nuclear Trident submarines within the next two years. If ready in time, they would also form part of the plan of attack, the paper said.

The most likely strategy would involve aerial bombardment of Iran by long-distance B2 bombers, each armed with up to 18,000kg of precision weapons, including the latest bunker-busting devices.

They would fly from bases in Missouri, with mid-air refuelling.

The Bush administration has recently announced plans to add conventional ballistic missiles to the armoury of its nuclear Trident submarines within the next two years. If ready in time, they would also form part of the plan of attack, the paper said.

Tehran has dispersed its nuclear plants, burying some deep underground, and has recently increased its air defences, but Pentagon planners believe the US attacks could seriously set back Iran's nuclear program.

Mr Ahmadinejad warned at the weekend that Iran could withdraw from the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty if Western pressure increased over its nuclear program.

His threat was an escalation of the Iranian Government's previous position that it would only stop complying with spot inspections of military installations and sites it has not declared to be part of its nuclear program.

"The Islamic Republic has continued its program within the framework of the International Atomic Energy Agency and the non-proliferation treaty. But if we see you want to use the NPT regulations to deprive us of our rights, know that the people will revise their policy in this regard," Mr Ahmadinejad said at a huge rally in Tehran.

Iran will not close door to nuclear negotiations: Haddad-Adel


TEHRAN (IRNA) – Iran will not close the door of nuclear negotiations with any country, Majlis Speaker Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel said here Sunday.

“Russia's nuclear plan can also be discussed. But we insist on our rights," he told reporters. Asked about the possibility of resuming nuclear talks, Haddad Adel said, "The atmosphere of talks will undoubtedly be different from what it was before the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors' decision to report Iran to the UN Security Council."

He noted that Iran would resume nuclear research on Sunday or Monday with the presence of the IAEA inspectors.

"Iran is determined to implement its decisions. When we announced our readiness to resume nuclear research, we should wait for the IAEA inspectors to come to Iran and supervise this phase," Haddad-Adel said.

Pointing to Iran's peaceful nuclear activities, he stated, "The IAEA article of association set legal methods for countries including Iran to act within the frameworks of international treaties and agreements.

"We say what will be the use of the IAEA if a country, which has opened the doors of its facilities and repeatedly announced it has no intention of building nuclear weapons, is barred from nuclear technology under the pretext that it may divert from peaceful nuclear activities. In that case, the existence of the IAEA will be meaningless."

In response to a question on the reasons behind Iran's refusal to adopt more steps to prevent the IAEA Board of Governors' from reporting its nuclear case to the Security Council, the speaker said, "Iran has set a plan which is regarded by experts as its strategies."


TAHRAN TIMES NEWSPAPER

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British soldiers patrol in Um Qasr, Iraq, Jan. 31. (Reuters File Photo)

LONDON, Feb. 12--The Ministry of Defense in London said Saturday it has ordered an “urgent investigation“ into a video that purports to show British troops ruthlessly abusing helpless teenagers in Iraq, reported AFP.
Details of the video, in which a group of young people are seen to be attacked by soldiers, were published in Britain’s best-selling Sunday newspaper, the News of the World.
It said the scenes were filmed by a corporal who can be heard encouraging his colleagues--described by the mass-circulation tabloid as “a rogue squad of British soldiers“--in a running commentary.
In a statement late Saturday, just as the first copies of the News of the World were coming off the presses, a Ministry of Defense spokeswoman said the report was being taken “extremely seriously“.
“We are aware of these very serious allegations and can confirm they are now the subject of an urgent Royal Military Police investigation,“ she said.
“We condemn all acts of abuse and brutality and always treat any allegations of wrongdoing extremely seriously,“ she added.
“Over 80,000 servicemen and women (from the British armed forces) have served in Iraq since military operations began. Only a tiny minority are alleged to have been involved in incidents of deliberate abuse.“
The News of the World said the fuzzy video showed the troops dragging four young protesters off a street and into an army compound where they were punched, kicked and hit with batons.
The video tape--thought to have been made in 2004 during street riots in southern Iraq, where British forces are concentrated--is said to show a minute’s worth of the attack, with 42 blows counted.
The News of the World said the tape was shown at the troops’ home base in Europe before being handed over by a whistleblower. It added that the footage also shows a soldier kicking the body of a dead Iraqi in the face.

IRAN DAILY NEWSPAPER

Saddam Hussein tells a Baghdad court that he and his seven co-defendants are all on hunger strike.

Two Pakistanis are shot dead in unrest over cartoons satirising the Prophet Muhammad, officials say.

Hundreds of thousands of Lebanese rally to mark one year since the killing of ex-Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

The deadly H5N1 bird flu virus has been confirmed in swans in Austria.
Austria's health authorities said the cases in two dead wild swans were the first to be found in the country.