US studying military strike options on Iran

Washington, Apr 9 (UNI) The Bush administration is studying the options of military strikes against Iran as part of a broader strategy of coercive diplomacy to pressure Tehran to abandon its alleged nuclear development programme, reports The Washington Post, quoting US officials and independent analysts.

The daily, however, says, "no attack appears likely in the short term, and many specialists inside and outside the US government harbour serious doubts about whether an armed response would be effective. But administration officials are preparing for it as a possible option and using the threat "to convince them this is more and more serious", it says quoting a senior official.

According to current and former officials, the paper points out, Pentagon and CIA planners have been exploring possible targets, such as the uranium enrichment plant at Natanz and the uranium conversion facility at Isfahan. Although a land invasion is not contemplated, military officers are weighing alternatives ranging from limited airstrikes aimed at key nuclear sites to a more extensive bombing campaign designed to destroy an array of military and political targets, it adds.

The daily says preparations for confrontation with Iran underscore how the issue has vaulted to the front of President Bush's agenda even as he struggles with a relentless war in next-door Iraq. Bush views Tehran as a serious menace that must be dealt with before his tenure ends. It quotes aides saying that the White House, in its new National Security Strategy, last month labelled Iran as the most serious challenge to the US posed by any country.

The daily notes that many military officers and specialists, however, view the saber rattling with alarm. A strike at Iran, they warn, would at best just delay its nuclear programme by a few years but could inflame international opinion against the United States, particularly in the Muslim world and especially within Iran, while making US troops in Iraq targets for retaliation.

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