U.S. Strikes On Iran Could Target Individual Leaders, Officials Say | EUROtoday

WASHINGTON, Feb 20 (Reuters) – U.S. navy planning on Iran has reached a sophisticated stage with choices together with focusing on people as a part of an assault and even pursuing regime change in Tehran, if ordered by President Donald Trump, two U.S. officers informed Reuters.

The navy choices are the newest indicators that the United States is getting ready for a critical battle with Iran ought to diplomatic efforts fail. Reuters first reported final week that the U.S. navy is getting ready for a sustained, weeks-long operation in opposition to Iran that might embody placing Iranian safety amenities in addition to nuclear infrastructure.

The newest revelations counsel extra granular, formidable planning forward of a choice by Trump, who has in latest days publicly floated the concept of regime change within the Islamic Republic.

The U.S. officers, who spoke on situation of anonymity because of the delicate nature of the planning, didn’t provide additional particulars on which people might be focused or how the U.S. navy might try to hold out regime change with out a big floor power.

Pursuing regime change would mark one other shift away from Trump’s vows throughout the presidential marketing campaign to desert what he has known as the failed insurance policies of previous administrations, which included navy efforts to topple governments in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Trump has assembled an enormous quantity of firepower within the Middle East however a lot of the fight capabilities are aboard warships and fighter plane. Any main bombing marketing campaign might additionally depend on assist from U.S.-based bombers.

In his first time period, Trump confirmed a willingness to hold out focused killings by approving a 2020 assault on Iran’s high common, Qassem Soleimani, who led the overseas espionage and paramilitary arm of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, often called the Quds Force.

The Trump administration formally labeled the IRGC a overseas terrorist group in 2019, the primary time Washington had utilized the designation to a different nation’s navy.

One of the U.S. officers famous Israel’s success focusing on Iranian leaders throughout its 12-day battle with Iran final 12 months. At the time, regional sources informed Reuters at the very least 20 senior commanders have been killed, together with the armed forces chief of employees, Major General Mohammad Bagheri.

“The 12-day war and Israeli strikes against individual targets really showed the utility of that approach,” the U.S. official mentioned, including that the main focus was on these concerned in command and management of IRGC forces.

Still, the official cautioned that focusing on people requires further intelligence sources. Killing a selected navy commander would imply figuring out their actual location and understanding who else may be harmed within the operation.

It was unclear to the officers who spoke with Reuters what intelligence the U.S. has on Iranian leaders who might doubtlessly be focused by the United States.

The White House and Pentagon didn’t instantly reply to requests for remark.

Trump has overtly floated the potential for altering the federal government in Iran, saying final week it “seems like that would be the best thing that could happen.” He declined to say who he wished to take over Iran, however mentioned, “there are people.”

While regime change operations have historically concerned main motion of U.S. floor forces, Trump turned to particular operations forces to oust Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro, sending them to seize him from his Caracas compound final month in an audacious raid.

At the identical time, the U.S. president has additionally held out hope for diplomacy, saying on Thursday that “really bad things” would occur if no deal have been reached. He appeared to set a deadline of not more than 10 to fifteen days earlier than the U.S. would possibly take motion.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard has warned it might retaliate in opposition to U.S. navy bases within the area if the U.S. strikes Iranian territory.

The U.S. has bases all through the Middle East, together with in Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Turkey.

In a letter on Thursday to U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Tehran mentioned it might not begin any battle however that “in the event that it is subjected to military aggression, Iran will respond decisively and proportionately” in its train of the proper of self-defense.

U.S. officers have informed Reuters they totally anticipate Iran to struggle again within the occasion of an assault, elevating the chance of U.S. casualties and a regional battle, given the variety of nations that might come below fireplace from Iran’s missile arsenal.

Trump’s threats to bomb Iran have pushed up oil costs, and on Thursday a Russian warship joined deliberate Iranian naval drills within the Gulf of Oman, an important sea route for international vitality shipments.

Tehran has previously threatened to close down the Strait of Hormuz whether it is attacked, a transfer that might choke off a fifth of world oil flows.

Iranian and U.S. negotiators met on Tuesday and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi mentioned they’d agreed on “guiding principles.” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt mentioned on Wednesday, nonetheless, that the 2 sides remained far aside on some points.

Iran has resisted making main concessions on its nuclear program, although insisting it’s for peaceable functions. The U.S. and Israel have previously accused Tehran of attempting to develop a nuclear bomb.

A senior U.S. official mentioned Iran would make a written proposal on easy methods to deal with U.S. issues.

Trump known as on Tehran on Wednesday to affix the U.S. on the “path to peace.”

“They can’t have a nuclear weapon, it’s very simple,” he mentioned. “You can’t have peace in the Middle East if they have a nuclear weapon.”

(Reporting by Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali; Editing by Don Durfee and Daniel Wallis)