US boosts bunker busters to target Iran

The Massive Ordnance Penetrator bunker buster bomb (file photo)

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/223534.html

War planners at the Pentagon are stepping up efforts to make the largest conventional bomb more powerful in order to use against Iranian nuclear facilities.

The 30,000-pound "bunker buster" bomb, known as the Massive Ordnance Penetrator, was specifically designed to take out the facilities built by Iran deep underground for its nuclear program, The Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday.

However, initial tests showed that the earth-penetrating weapon, which is built by Boeing Co., was not capable to destroy Iran's underground compounds, either because of their depth or because new fortifications prevent any harm to them.

The findings prompted the Pentagon to submit a clandestine request to the Congress this month, urging more fund to increase the penetrative force of the bomb into rock, concrete and steel before explosion.

American officials say the push for a more bunker buster bomb is part of the contingency planning for a possible strike against Iran's nuclear installations.

The US Defense Department has spent about USD330 million so far to develop about 20 Massive Ordnance Penetrators. The Pentagon is seeking about USD82 million more to enhance the bomb's penetration ability.

The United States, Israel, and some of their allies accuse Tehran of pursuing military objectives in its nuclear program. Washington and Tel Aviv have repeatedly threatened Tehran with the "option" of a military strike against its atomic facilities.

Meanwhile, the UN Security Council -- under pressure from Washington and Tel Aviv -- has imposed four rounds of sanctions against Iran. The United States and the European Union have also adopted unilateral measures against the Islamic Republic in an effort to deter Western investment in Iran's energy sector.

Iran argues that as a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty and a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), it has every right to develop and acquire nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.

The IAEA has conducted numerous inspections of Iran's nuclear facilities but has never found any evidence indicating that Tehran's civilian nuclear program has been diverted to nuclear weapons production.

Diego Garcia bunker-busters meant to threaten Iran

Source: PressTV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=120910§ionid=351020101


The Sunday Herald has reported that hundreds of powerful US "bunker-buster" bombs are being shipped from California to the British island of Diego Garcia.

In January, the US government signed a contract to transport 10 ammunition containers to the island, the Scottish newspaper wrote on March 14.

According to a cargo manifest from the US navy, this included 387 “Blu-110” and "Blu-117" bombs used for blasting hardened or underground structures. Crucially, the cargo included 195 smart, guided, Blu-110 bombs and 192 massive 2000lb Blu-117 bombs.

Experts say that they are being put in place for an assault on Iran's nuclear facilities, added the newspaper.

There has long been speculation that the US military is preparing for such an attack should diplomacy fail to persuade Iran to halt uranium enrichment.

Although Diego Garcia is part of the British Indian Ocean Territory, it is used by the US as a military base under an agreement made in 1971. The agreement led to 2,000 native islanders being forcibly evicted to the Seychelles and Mauritius.

The Sunday Herald reported in 2007 that stealth bomber hangers on Diego Garcia Island were being equipped to accommodate bunker-buster bombs.

Although the story was not confirmed at the time, the new evidence suggests that it was accurate, the latest edition of the Sunday Herald said.

A shipping company based in Florida, Superior Maritime Services, will be paid $699,500 to carry many thousands of military items from Concord, California to Diego Garcia.

"The US is not publicizing the scale of these preparations to deter Iran, tending to make confrontation more likely," the Sunday Herald quoted Dan Plesch, the director of the Centre for International Studies and Diplomacy at the University of London, as saying.

"The US… is using its forces as part of an overall strategy of shaping Iran's actions," he added.

According to Ian Davis, the director of the new independent think tank NATO Watch, the shipment to Diego Garcia is a major concern. “We would urge the US to clarify its intentions for these weapons, and the Foreign Office to clarify its attitude to the use of Diego Garcia for an attack on Iran,” he said.

The British Ministry of Defense has said in the past that the US government would need permission to use Diego Garcia for offensive action.

However, the US military used Diego Garcia as a base to attack Iraq in 1991 and 2003.

About 50 British military personnel are stationed on the island and over 3,200 US troops.