US 'draws up plan to attack within 24 hours'

London: US President George W. Bush has ordered defence chiefs to draw up an attack plan on Iran which can be launched within 24 hours, according to a new report.

Investigative journalist Seymour Hersh claims the US president has demanded a new look at Washington's strategy for dealing with Tehran's nuclear ambitions.

He reports in an article in the New Yorker magazine that a bombing blueprint is being drawn up, including targets supporting Shiite forces in Iraq, as well as nuclear sites. Secret operations are also being conducted against Syria and the Hezbollah group in Lebanon.

US elite forces were also said to be crossing into Iran to track down Iranian agents and to undertake intelligence missions under the tougher line being masterminded by Vice-President Dick Cheney, who has warned that military action against Tehran remains on the table.

The US administration was also alleged to be bypassing scrutiny by Cong-ress by funding increased activity targeting Iran.

A Pentagon consultant told Hersh: "There are many, many pots of black money, scattered in many places and used all over the world on a variety of missions."

Pentagon denial

Hersh, who broke the news of the My Lai massacre during the Vietnam war and was one of the first reporters to highlight the abuse of prisoners at Abu Ghraib jail in Iraq, told CNN: "This president is not going to leave office without doing something about Iran."

The Pentagon denied Washington was actively preparing for military action against Tehran.

A spokesman said: "The United States is not planning to go to war with Iran. To suggest anything to the contrary is simply, wrong, misleading and mischievous."