A new article by UPI Intelligence Correspondent Richard Sale is reporting that the United States has begun flying combat aircraft over Iran. According to the article, the purpose of these flyovers is to force the Iranian air defense systems to use their radar to "lock on" to United States planes, thus revealing their location. Once the coordinates of said air defense systems are known, they will be added to the list of targets the US is assembling should they attack Iran. A US intelligence official said they are being used to develop "an electronic order of battle for Iran." The article also reports that the United States is working on cross-border incursions into Iran, primarily using Israeli-trained teams of Kurds in northern Iraq and US-trained teams of Iranian exiles in southern Iraq. These missions, some of which are being done in conjunction with US Special Forces, are aimed at gathering intelligence on Iran's 13 or more suspected nuclear sites.

Based on recent reporting by Seymour Hersch on Iran, a military attack on Iran is seen as increasingly likely by the Bush administration. The Bush administration reportedly sees their reelection as a validation of their polices in "the war on terror" and as such are issuing executive orders authorizing the use of secret commando forces and special forces to conduct covert operations as part of "the war on terror" in as many as ten countries, including Iran. While the European Union has sought a diplomatic solution to the situation, the Bush administration has refused to enter negotiations with Iran and has instead warned that Iran is "at the top of the list" of trouble spots in the world