Veteran journalist Seymour Hersh
The revelations come as the Israel-Iran conflict enters its eighth day, marked by escalating direct military exchanges and mounting casualties.
Hersh, known for his decades of reporting on intelligence and nuclear issues, including his 1991 book The Samson Option which detailed Israel’s nuclear bomb project, asserts that the White House has “signed off on an all-out bombing campaign in Iran.” The primary targets, according to the report, are Iran's most advanced centrifuges, “buried at least 80 meters below the surface at Fordow.” US bombers equipped with "bunker bombs capable of penetrating to that depth" are slated to begin attacking the Fordow facility this weekend.
The timing of these strikes is reportedly a concession to President Trump, who insisted on the delay to "diminish" the "shock of the bombing" before Wall Street trading commences on Monday. This pause also allows for the preparation of over two dozen US Air Force bases and Navy ports across the Middle East and Eastern Mediterranean for potential Iranian retaliation.
Beyond nuclear sites, the alleged bombing campaign will broaden its scope to include new targets: "the BASES of the Republican Guards," "Iranian police stations," and "Government offices that house files on suspected dissenters in Iran." An "informed official" told Hersh the goal is to "do away with this regime once and for all" and "go big," although specifying it will "not be carpet bombing."
The article highlights a fundamental disagreement between US and Israeli planners regarding Iran's post-Khamenei future. While a White House planning group, including Vice President J.D. Vance, has reportedly discussed installing a "moderate religious leader," the Israelis have "bitterly objected to the idea," demanding "a political puppet to control." This division could lead to "permanent hostility and future conflict in perpetuity," according to a US official.
This alleged plan surfaces amidst a volatile period. The ongoing conflict has seen Iran launch further missile barrages at Israel, including reported hypersonic missiles, striking Beersheba and causing damage to residential areas. Simultaneously, Israel has continued its intense airstrikes on Tehran, targeting additional nuclear and military infrastructure, including a centrifuge production facility and a university linked to the IRGC. Casualty figures remain high on both sides, and international bodies, including the UNSC, are engaged in diplomatic efforts to de-escalate the crisis.
Hersh suggests a key aspiration within American and Israeli intelligence is for the bombings to trigger a "democratic uprising against the ayatollahs," possibly with the involvement of minority groups like the Azeri community. However, he warns that a massive bombing campaign could leave Iran in a state of "permanent failure, as happened after Western intervention in Libya in 2011," with the future of the region's already unstable nations far from settled. Ultimately, Hersh posits that President Trump "clearly wants an international win he can market," portraying the current strategy as a high-stakes gamble.
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