London: Britain`s armed forces are stepping
up contingency planning for potential military action against
Iran, amid mounting concern about Tehran`s nuclear enrichment
programme, a media report said today.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) believed the US may decide
to fast-forward plans for targeted missile strikes at some key
Iranian facilities.
The Guardian daily quoting British officials said that if
Washington presses ahead it will seek, and receive, UK
military help for any mission, despite some deep reservations
within the coalition government.
The British military planners of a potential attack are
examining where best to deploy Royal Navy ships and submarines
equipped with Tomahawk cruise missiles over the coming months
as part of what would be an air and sea campaign, the report
said.
The US would ask permission to launch attacks from Diego
Garcia, the British Indian Ocean territory, which the
Americans have used previously for conflicts in the Middle
East.
US officials are likely to seize on next week`s report
from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which is
expected to provide fresh evidence of a possible nuclear
weapons programme in Iran.
Quoting Whitehall officials, the paper said Iran has
proved "surprisingly resilient" in the face of sanctions, and
sophisticated attempts by the west to cripple its nuclear
enrichment programme had been less successful than first
thought.
Official now believe Iran has restored all the capacity
it lost in a sophisticated cyber attack last year.
PTI
