In an editorial citing unnamed Washington sources, As-Siyasa said air-to-surface missiles could be used in U.S. strikes against Iran, but that no ground operation would be launched to avoid casualties among U.S. service personnel.
A political statement announcing the strike will be delivered by President George W. Bush later this month, the newspaper said. It will justify the military action against Iran by the need to enhance security, peace and stability in the Gulf region and in the Middle East, and will reemphasize the danger of Tehran's nuclear program to the United States and its allies.
Iran, blacklisted by Bush as part of what he calls "the axis of evil," will be accused of interfering in Iraqi domestic affairs along with Syria, As-Siyasa said. Other accusations likely to be leveled at the Islamic Republic will include complicity in fuelling conflicts in Somalia, Yemen, Lebanon and Afghanistan, as well as jeopardizing navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, the main passageway for oil tankers carrying Gulf crude to Asian markets.
According to the Kuwaiti newspaper, the U.S. Administration hopes its first military strike against Iran will trigger an anti-government outburst in the Islamic Republic, as there is growing discontent in Iranian society over the policies of "the cruel regime advocating a culture of death."
