Dutch Intelligence: U.S. Strike on Iran Likely 'Within Weeks'

Posted by Joshua Holland, AlterNet at 11:00 AM on September 2, 2008.

There has been so much smoke over the past few months -- so many leaks, so much speculation about a strike on Iran -- but the question remains whether there will be fire.

From the Jerusalem Post:

The Dutch intelligence service, the AIVD, has called off an operation aimed at infiltrating and sabotaging Iran's weapons industry due to an assessment that a US attack on the Islamic Republic's nuclear program is imminent, according to a report in the country's De Telegraaf newspaper on Friday.

The report claimed that the Dutch operation had been "extremely successful," and had been stopped because the US military was planning to hit targets that were "connected with the Dutch espionage action."

The impending air-strike on Iran was to be carried out by unmanned aircraft "within weeks," the report claimed, quoting "well placed" sources.

According to the report, information gleaned from the AIVD's operation in Iran has provided several of the targets that are to be attacked in the strike, including "parts for missiles and launching equipment."

"Information from the AIVD operation has been shared in recent years with the CIA," the report said.

On Friday, Ma'ariv reported that Israel had made a strategic decision to deny Iran military nuclear capability and would not hesitate "to take whatever means necessary" to prevent Teheran from achieving its nuclear goals.

According to the report, whether the United States and Western countries succeed in thwarting the Islamic Republic's nuclear ambitions diplomatically, through sanctions, or whether a US strike on Iran is eventually decided upon, Jerusalem has begun preparing for a separate, independent military strike.

It's impossible to know whether these are strategic leaks designed to compel Iran to abandon its nuclear energy (and possibly weapons) program or legitimate indications that a bunch of lunatics in Washington, Tehran and Tel Aviv are rushing to start another bloody conflagration in the Middle East. Let's hope it's the former; the latter would be disastrous on so many levels.

Joshua Holland is an editor and senior writer at AlterNet.