by Jon Sedran
Arachi looked perplexed. “Certainly we had nothing to do with them,” he said.
Kaviani looked down for a moment, and then looked directly at him. “Unfortunately, I have received very reliable information that Ayatollah Javadi and General Namazi, conspiring with others, had those weapons assembled and delivered to Hezbollah. This was done outside the other authorized program. They apparently used fissile materials given us by Pakistan some years ago…I knew nothing of this.”
Arachi sat listening in stunned silence. “But why?” he asked, shaking his head in disbelief.
Kaviani sighed. “Javadi told me several times he felt I should not allow the sanctions to force us into a weak bargaining position. I felt was not living up to the revolution’s goals and ideals. He also wanted me to have President Massoud stall a while longer so our uranium enrichment could be completed before allowing the inspectors back in.”
“But, but then who carried out the attacks?” asked Arachi.
“It appears General Namazi helped Hezbollah train two suicide crews. He had the devices assembled at the airport in Beirut. The crews then flew on to martyrdom.”
“By Allah, this is terrible,” said Arachi, “And why Amman?”
Kaviani closed his eyes momentarily. “I believe the second target was Tel Aviv and the crew got lost at night,” he replied, clasping his hands.
“By Allah, what are we going to do?”
“I don’t know…but we are at war now, and our national survival is at stake. I need both General Namazi’s and Javadi’s help for the time being. Then I will deal with them both. Keep this to yourself for now.”
“I will, of course.”
* * * *
The White House Situation Room remained a chaotic scene, but a clearer picture of what had happened was now being assembled.
Acosta motioned for his National Security Advisor. “Ray, I just got off the phone with Koslov. He spoke with Iranian President Massoud, who by the way plans to resign. He confirmed this report I have here that the attacks were planned and carried out by a Hezbollah Commander named Marid. The uranium for the two devices was brought into Iran from Pakistan about fifteen years ago. It was excess from early Pakistani tests, after development of a uranium gun type of device was ended in favor of smaller militarized weapons. A member of Iran’s Guardian Council, an Ayatollah Javadi, working with the Republican Guard, kept this transfer secret. Then they quietly had the materials re-assembled for use in the two bombs. Apparently, none of this was known to the rest of the Council, or to Grand Ayatollah Kaviani,” Acosta explained.
“Well, Mr. President, that seems to be supported by the DIA assessment we received; CIA is still not one-hundred percent certain,” replied Alby.
“Jesus, Ray, so a few hardliners decided to secretly build a couple of nukes and use them on the Israelis. Their President knew nothing and their supreme leader knew nothing,” said Acosta, sarcastically.
Alby shook his head. “It does seem a bit far-fetched, Mr. President.”
Acosta tossed the report onto the desk and then turned and slowly looked around the room.
“Even if their story is true, and I have my doubts, this means they have a nuclear weapons program, and possibly a very robust program,” said Acosta. “Now we have to find out if they have any more nukes.”
“Yes sir, and we have to find out quickly,” added Alby.
“Mr. President, should we need to do a ground invasion, we have plans in place. But fully building up and preparing our forces in the region, will take months,” said Bingham.
“Let’s hope that is not necessary general,” said the President as he got up from the table. “If you will all excuse me, I have several more meetings to attend…and a press conference.”
* * * *
“Ayatollah Javadi, do you think it is wise we continue to keep what we did secret from the others?” asked Namazi, as the two met in Javadi’s office. The general’s normally controlled composure was beginning to break down and Javadi detected nervousness in his voice. “They will surely find out,” Namazi insisted. “By now the Americans have analyzed the blast debris and will know the origin of the fissile materials,” he concluded.
“Yes, general…from Pakistan, not Iran. And what will we gain by telling the others?” asked Javadi. “It was Allah’s will and now we must fight for our country.”
“But Amman…that was not part of our plan. The pilots must have gotten lost,” Namazi figured.
“The Jordanians were helping the Zionists and Americans attack our Syrian allies,” Javadi threw out.
“Have you seen the videos from Amman?’ asked Namazi, adding, “Up until now we could count on Arab indifference and their mutual hatred of Israel to keep the Zionists and their U.S. ally, at bay. Should we be implicated in any of this, we…”
Javadi cut him off, “We won’t be,” he assured him.
* * * *
U.S. Cyber Command had been successful in disabling much of Iran’s air defense capabilities. A mixture of Electromagnetic Pulse Bombs and the new cyber warfare tactics employed by deadly and stealthy AQ-190 drones had brought about the shutdown of many military systems. USAF F-22 and F-35 fighters roamed the skies freely over Iran enforcing a UN no-fly zone America had gotten the U.N. to put into place. NATO’s Tornado fighters and cruise missiles struck Iranian naval port facilities and air force facilities almost daily.
Rahid pushed the throttles full forward on his forty-year old U.S. built two-seat F-14 fighter, call sign Natu One-Seven. The planes afterburners reluctantly complied and lit, pushing the plane faster and faster down the runway. The two crewmembers felt the acceleration as the plane gained speed, one-hundred knots, one-forty, one-sixty. Rahid pulled back on the stick and coaxed the big machine into the air. The thirty-four year old Iranian fighter pilot and his young radar intercept officer in the back seat, were nervous but resolute. After the plane was safely airborne, Rahid retracted the landing gear, and the plane began to climb and accelerate. “Allah Akbar,” he said over the plane’s intercom. “Allah Akbar,” Paria replied.
They had confidence in their F-14’s capabilities. They were proud that their country could keep the planes flying and had even upgraded their systems, in spite of tough economic sanctions preventing Iran from getting much needed parts. All F-14 parts were embargoed and the U.S. did everything it could to prevent the Iranians from getting them. The crew had been told their upgraded aircraft could now match the capabilities of the advanced F-18’s, F-22’s and F-35’s that were being deployed against them. Their F-14, was older than either of them.
“Natu One-Seven turn to heading two-five zero degrees and climb to five-thousand feet”, the Iranian air-defense radar controller directed.
“Heading two-five zero and five-thousand feet, Natu One-Seven”, Rahid repeated back. He turned the aircraft to the assigned heading and continued to climb the F-14 to five-thousand feet. When they were over the Persian Gulf coast they would end all contact with the ground radar controller, as they knew the Americans were listening to their radio transmissions. On the last two flights, their radar had failed mid-way through their patrol and they had to return to base. In its day, and when well-maintained, the F-14 was a deadly package, sporting six long-range Phoenix air-to-air missiles and a phased–array radar capable of tracking up to six targets simultaneously.
“Let’s go find an American navy ship and sink it…let’s sink an aircraft carrier!” exclaimed Paria, adding, “Allah is with us today.”
“Keep your head outside and be looking around,” directed Rahid, as he maneuvered the old fighter, staying low and heading north along the coastline. He quietly glanced over at a picture of his family clipped to the windscreen frame.
* * * *
American and allied air power had complete control of the skies over Iran. But the Iranian military had kept many of its defensive missile system radars off-line to prevent their detection, and they remained a serious threat. The Iranians were also launc
hing surface-to-surface missiles at targets in neighboring countries using mobile launchers which were hard to locate and destroy.
“Good morning everyone, Major Harms will brief you on today’s air suppression missions and threat assessments.” announced USAF Wing Commander, Col Murray, at the Al Udeid Air Base, in Qatar.
Harms walked up to the front of the room. “Good morning everyone,” he announced looking up at a projected wall map and pointing with his laser pointer. “Iran’s air defense forces have deployed Russian-made SA-300 missiles and there own version of this, the Bavar-373, along the coast line here and here. Also, several kilometers inland is an overlapping air defense weapons pattern that is offering very good coverage for them. The S-300 variant is deadly. It has an excellent frequency-hopping, phased-array radar and can defeat many countermeasures. It can successfully acquire fast moving, low-flying aircraft over one-hundred miles out. The missile platform includes advanced acquisition radar, low radar profile, Mach three speed, and great resistance to jamming and other counter-measures we employ. As some of you are aware, these have been giving us fits. Three Saudi F-15’s and one of our own, lost to them.” So far the Iranian tactic is to have their F-14’s fly out from their bases at tree-top altitude, climb quickly and acquire one of our aircraft on their radar. They fire an AIM-54 missile, and flee back under their air defense radar umbrella. They also strafe any target of opportunity which may come into view, such as an oil tanker, and quickly return to base.
“Take all appropriate countermeasures,” cautioned Murray.
“At least four navy F-18’s flying suppression missions have tried to lock up the F-14’s on their radars, and launch AARAMs,” said the major, adding, “But each time as they attempted to lock them up and fire, the pilots got warnings that Iranian air defense missile sites were locking on to their radar. They were forced to shut down and turn back before getting off a shot.”
“So what do we do, just chase them off?” asked one of the pilots.
“For now, yes, we can still greatly reduce their effectiveness. They can’t do much when they have to quickly hit and run,” said Murray, adding, “If you can get a shot, take it.”
Harms nodded vigorously. “By all means,” he said, continuing the briefing. “But stay at the safe distances programmed into your GPS. DIA says the Iranians have also deployed a limited number of the newest Russian-made S-400 surface to surface missiles. These are deadly against our ships when operated by competent, well-trained personnel. The navy is trying to deal with them. We know Iranian gunboats have been deployed to the coastal areas and are attacking oil tankers and ships with torpedoes. You are authorized to engage and sink any you see out there. Also, you may engage any Iranian minelaying ships. They have already laid almost two-thousand deadly mines in the Strait of Hormuz.” He turned at looked a map displayed on the wall monitor. “In less than four days nearly all tanker traffic through the Strait has been halted. U.S. and British minesweepers have been deployed and our navies are engaging the Iranian navy with large force of…” He was suddenly interrupted by the blaring of sirens and the voice over the loudspeakers exclaiming “Alarm red, Alarm red, Take cover!”
“Colonel, command post has incoming missiles,” yelled a sergeant as he opened the briefing room door.
“Everyone to your assigned shelter area,” yelled Murray, as the crews quickly exited the room. Less than a minute later a series of low booms shook the ground. Two large fireballs rose up and two KC-10 tankers were now burning on the ramp.
* * * *
A weary President Acosta had gotten no more than four hours sleep on any given day since the attacks on Haifa and Amman, and the subsequent commencement of U.S. military kinetic actions against Iran. He returned to the Oval Office from the Situation Room with the Defense Secretary.
Simpson was frantically scrolling through pages on his tablet PC as he walked. “So far, Mr. President, our cruise missiles have been successfully taking out Iranian air defense radars and control centers, and the new AQ-190 drones, and the older, Reaper and Predator drones, have taken out much of their command and control capabilities,” he reported.
Acosta nodded, “Good,” he said, adding, “Nancy got the U.N. to authorize a ‘No-Fly zone over all of Iran.”
“Our B-2 bombers and F-22’s fighters are going in now to destroy the remaining Iranian air defenses. It looks like the Russian Air Force may have spent three years working with the Iranians to improve their air defenses, for nothing,” Bingham said confidently.
“And our losses?” asked Acosta.
“They hit Al Udeid Air Base, in Qatar with missiles and destroyed two KC-10 tankers,” Simpson replied, adding, “Two of our F-22’s and one F-35 parked nearby on the ramp were heavily damaged and likely not repairable. One of our F-15’s and three F-16’s have been downed. One F-22 barely made it back to base.”
A bleary-eyed Acosta sighed and went back to his computer screen.
“Mr. President you really should get some rest,” Simpson advised.
“I know,” replied Acosta, leaning back in his chair,” I’m expecting a call from the Israeli Prime Minister, then I’m going to bed.”
CHAPTER THIRTY
In the underground command center in Tehran, the progress of the conflict was being displayed on large wall-mounted monitors. One monitor had icons depicted the positions of Iranian military forces in red and U.S. and NATO forces in blue. Another showed the present ground forces status and situation in Syria. Flashing arrows indicated the main body of Iranian and Syrian forces advancing rapidly in the Golan Heights.
The Guardian Council had assembled at a large table and tempers were flaring, “Ayatollah Kaviani, we have endured almost a week of their bombs and cruise missiles raining down on us,” shouted one of the leading clerics. There was a low rumble and the light fixtures swayed slightly. Then another cleric announced, “They have destroyed most of the Karg Island oil facilities…and they have destroyed nearly all our airfields and our port facilities too.”
The lights went off for few seconds and then came back on. “There will be nothing left soon,” yelled a third, shaking his head, “Is it not time for our own military to be put into full use?”
Kaviani nodded. “Yes, I met with Generals Rabiei and Namazi, and they are awaiting our orders. I gave General Namazi the okay to send in commandos to hit the port oil facilities in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.”
“The U.S. war machine is the most powerful in the world, but it has an Achilles Heel,” advised Arachi.
“And what would that be?” asked Javadi.
“The American people are not accustomed to suffering significant losses amongst their fighting forces,” replied Arachi, adding, “This was true in World War Two, where the Russians and Germans fought massive battles and each suffered large numbers of casualties; while America conducted its operations in a manner that limited their losses. Many historians have said the Americans could have been to Berlin much sooner, but General Eisenhower opted to proceed more slowly and reduce potential American casualties.”
Javadi nodded. “They expect to win every battle and end every conflict with limited losses,” he said, adding, “You are correct, the American people will not tolerate large losses. I saw where even the Zionist CNN has a story about American polls indicating a serious lack of enthusiasm for another protracted war.”
“Will our own people stay the course if the bombs keep falling?” asked Arachi, adding, “There is almost no reliable electricity, and there are already shortages of food and fuel.”
“I just spoke with Admiral Tovar, and he believes we can sink their carrier George H.W. Bush, which is presently bottled up in the Persian Gulf,” said Arachi, continuing, “He tells me their carrier requires a large umbrella of fighter planes, helicopters and many ships to protect it. The admiral believes we can neutralize their defenses with our newest land-based missiles and if we utilize swarm tactics and hit their carrier from many directions at once, we can cripple, o
r even sink it.”
Javadi said nothing. Kaviani keeps looking at me, does he know what I did? he wondered.
“Tell General Rabiei to instruct Admiral Tovar to proceed immediately,” directed Kaviani.
“Right away,” replied Arachi.
* * * *
So far Iran had been successful in laying down mines and ending all use of the strategic Strait of Hormouz passageway. On the bridge of the carrier George H.W. Bush, now stranded in the Persian Gulf, senior commanders were discussing their limited options.
“Everyone, the last thing I wanted was to have the Fifth Fleet bottled up here,” said a frustrated and worried Morris. “We know the carrier task force cannot adequately defend itself from land-based threats when we are unable to send ships and aircraft far enough out to form a screen. But that what the hand we have been dealt and we will play it.”
“We have more firepower than the whole Iranian navy,” said ship’s Captain Clancy confidently.
“What’s the status of the top cover?” Asked Morris, adding, “Iran still has plenty of punch left. We have yet to sink any of their subs.” Clancy walked up to the large display screen showing the position and status of all fleet assets. “We are ready admiral,” he reported, as he pointed to icons on the screen and explained, “We have the F-18 screen out as far out as the international borders will allow, the Seahawk helicopters are deployed, two cruisers and two frigates are stationed at these points. The Virginia is on station here, as well. There are other nearby U.S. Air Force land-based fighter assets available as well, here and here, should we need them, which I seriously doubt.”
* * * *