Tehran
President Bush has instructed the CIA to start a nonlethal, covert operation to destabilize the Iranian government, ABC News reported this week. Quoting current and former intelligence officials, the report said the campaign involves spreading disinformation and propaganda, as well as interfering in Iran’s financial transactions. Iran has long accused the U.S. and Britain of attempting to undermine its regime by funding ethnic separatists. “Everybody in the region knows that there is a proxy war already afoot,” with the U.S. supporting Iranian opposition groups, said Vali Nasr of the Council on Foreign Relations. Analysts said the approval of covert action means that the Bush administration has—at least for now—ruled out military action to stop Iran’s nuclear programs. U.N. nuclear experts said last week that Iran has dramatically increased its ability to produce nuclear fuel.
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