Report: U.S. planning Iran strikes

The Pentagon is planning air- and sea-based attacks on Iran's nuclear sites if no diplomatic solution to the standoff is found, a British newspaper reports.

A combination of air strikes and ballistic missiles launched by submarines would be a "last resort," the Sunday Telegraph said. Strategists working on target identification and weapons assessment are reporting directly to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, the newspaper said.

"This is more than just the standard military contingency assessment," a senior Pentagon adviser told the Telegraph. "This has taken on much greater urgency in recent months."

Britain is unlikely to back an attack on Iran, fearing the reaction in the Middle East and the rest of the world, the newspaper said. British planners also believe that such an attack would be unlikely to destroy all of Iran's nuclear sites.

Iran faces possible sanctions from the United Nations Security Council if it continues its nuclear program. But President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's nuclear ambitions appear to have the support of many Iranians, the Telegraph reported.

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