Washington Examiner – by Paul Bedard
In the latest sign that Iran is readying for a military clash with the United States even as it works to revive an Obama-era nuclear “deal,” experts have revealed that Tehran is hardening its “critical infrastructure” as a possible response to an attack on the U.S. electric grid.
While some in the Biden administration have said Iran does not yet have a traditional nuclear-tipped missile that can strike the U.S., others are now citing evidence that the terrorist nation is stepping up its efforts to explode a small nuclear weapon delivered on a satellite in the skies over key electric grids, creating a blackout knockout for the U.S.
The new evidence, in a report shared with Secrets, includes moves by Iran to harden its own grid and other infrastructure and military documents endorsing a so-called high-altitude electromagnetic pulse strategy.
“Iran’s intentions to exploit HEMP offensively may be reflected in their efforts to protect at least some of their critical infrastructures from HEMP attack,” the new report said. “IRAN: EMP THREAT The Islamic Republic of Iran’s Military Doctrine, Plans, and Capabilities for Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) Attack.”
Author Peter Vincent Pry, the executive director of the EMP Task Force on National and Homeland Security, added, “An official Iranian military textbook endorses nuclear HEMP attack against the United States, as well as deception measures to conceal nuclear weapons in violation of international agreements.”
The report comes as talks, especially among European and Middle Eastern countries, move toward some restoration of former President Barack Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran that was scuttled by former President Donald Trump.
Pry said EMP weapons can effectively shut down a nation and be easily deployed. And, he added, the targets are obvious: “If Iran acquires or develops nuclear HEMP attack capabilities, Iran’s targets or that of its terrorist proxies will most likely be the populations of America and Israel.”
His report urged the Pentagon and the Biden administration to look beyond Iran’s struggle to build an intercontinental missile and focus also on satellites.
“Iran has orbited civilian satellites in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2015; orbited a military satellite; has suborbited a monkey into space and returned it safely (2013); and has medium-range military missiles, more than any other nation in the Middle East,” he wrote.
Pry added, “Iran has not demonstrated a military intercontinental missile equipped with a reentry vehicle capable of penetrating the atmosphere, accurate enough to strike a city. Yet a High-altitude Electromagnetic Pulse (HEMP) attack does not require a reentry vehicle or accuracy.”