USAF Chief Talks Up Attack on Iran Nuclear Sites

The U.S. has prepared options to strike nuclear facilities in Iran, Air Force Chief General Norman Schwartz said Wednesday.

Military options tabled by the Joint Chiefs of Staff range from supplying the Israeli Air Force with tankers for mid-air refueling, to using the Air Force's 30,000-pound bunker-buster bombs to penetrate fortifications at Iran's Fordo uranium-enrichment facility, according to the Washington Post.

What we can do, you wouldn't want to be in the area, Schwartz reportedly told reporters in Washington.

On Wednesday Joint Chiefs Chairman Army General Martin Dempsey added that the U.S. military's top brass is determined to prevent Iran from achieving a nuclear weapon.

I can assure you of that, he added.

The latest warnings come just days before Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is due to meet President Barack Obama in crunch talks to decide under what conditions an attack on Iran would be necessary.

Up until now, Israeli and U.S. officials have been unable to agree on a plan for Iran.

According to a Brookings Institute poll cited by The Globe, only 19 percent of Israelis would support an attack on Iran without U.S. support.

Because there is uncertainty about the administration's will to act in the Israelis' minds, and more importantly in the Iranians' minds, it's very important that we don't just say that all options are on the table, but also show that they are, by some overt means, Michigan Republican congressman Mike Rogers, told Bloomberg.

Citing unnamed Pentagon officials, Bloomberg added that attack plans include strikes against the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, other military bases and both the Ministries of Intelligence and Security.

It has previously been suggested that the Air Force's Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) weapon would not be powerful enough to penetrate Iran's most heavily fortified facilities.

Last month the Wall Street Journal reported the Pentagon had secretly asked Congress for $82 million to improve the MOP's penetrating power, followed quickly by denials from military officials that the request was aimed at any particular country.

It's a capability we believe we need in our arsenal and will continue to invest in it, Pentagon press secretary George Little told the Wall Street Journal.