'US May Be Planning to Bomb Iran'

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The US could be in the process of accelerating provisions for a possible attack on Iran, according to an ABC News report published Tuesday.

 

The report cited a recent Pentagon decision to push for funding to build a "gargantuan bunker-busting bomb called the Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP)," originally planned for use in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Pentagon's 2009 request, which was approved last week, was published by ABC, as well as the previous 2007 request.

To explain why the bomb was needed at this juncture, the Pentagon only said, "The Department has an Urgent Operational Need (UON) for the capability to strike hard and deeply buried targets in high threat environments. The MOP is the weapon of choice to meet the requirements of the UON." ABC noted that the departments which requested the MOP had responsibility over North Korea and Iran.

The report also stated that this weapon would be "ideally suited" for a strike on Iran's uranium enrichment plant at Natanz, or the recently revealed plant at Qom.

US aerospace manufacturer and defense contractor McDonnell Douglas received a $51.9 million contract to build the four MOPs, the report said.

Source: Jerusalem Post

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