U.S. covert action rising in Iran, Hersh reports

WASHINGTON – The Bush administration told Congress last year of a secret plan to dramatically expand covert operations inside Iran as part of a long-running effort to destabilize the country’s ruling regime, according to a report published Sunday.

The plan allowed up to $400 million in covert spending for activities ranging from spying on Iran’s nuclear program to supporting rebel groups opposed to the country’s ruling clerics, veteran investigative journalist Seymour Hersh reported in New Yorker magazine.

While the administration has been waging a low-grade covert campaign against Iran for at least three years – consisting mainly of cross-border raids targeting groups tied to attacks against U.S. forces in Iraq – the new policy represents a significant expansion, the report contends. The prospect of a broader covert presence inside Iran also has raised concerns among some congressional and military officials about a possible escalation leading to a broader military conflict, it states.

The article drew a sharp reaction from administration officials, who denied that U.S. forces were engaged in operations inside Iran.

“I can tell you flatly that U.S. forces are not operating across the Iraqi border into Iran, in the south or anywhere else,” U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker said Sunday on CNN’s “Late Edition.”

Hersh reported that the approval for expanded covert authority was contained in a “Presidential Finding,” a highly classified document that lays the legal groundwork for all covert activities by U.S. intelligence officials. The Iranian finding was presented late last year to a group of eight congressional leaders – the top Democrat and Republican in the Senate, House and intelligence committees of both chambers – in keeping with a requirement for congressional notification.

In theory, Congress can challenge a proposed covert action by denying funding.