US 'Iran attack plans' revealedUSS John C. Stennis is being deployed to the Persian Gulf
US contingency plans for air strikes on Iran extend beyond nuclear sites and include most of the country's military infrastructure, the BBC has learned. It is understood that any such attack - if ordered - would
target Iranian air bases, naval bases, missile facilities and command-and-control centres.The US insists it is
not planning to attack, and is trying to persuade Tehran to stop uranium enrichment.
The UN has urged Iran to stop the programme or face economic sanctions.
But diplomatic sources have told the BBC that as a fallback plan, senior officials at Central Command in Florida have already selected their target sets inside Iran.That list includes Iran's uranium enrichment plant at
Natanz. Facilities at
Isfahan, Arak and Bushehr are also on the target list, the sources say.
Two triggersBBC security correspondent Frank Gardner says the trigger for such an attack reportedly includes
any confirmation that Iran was developing a nuclear weapon - which it denies.Alternatively, our correspondent adds,
a high-casualty attack on US forces in neighbouring Iraq could also trigger a bombing campaign if it were traced directly back to Tehran.