Chomsky quotes Dan Plesch, director of the Centre for International Studies and Diplomacy at the University of London:
"They are gearing up totally for the destruction of Iran, US bombers and long range missiles are ready today to destroy 10,000 targets in Iran in a few hours, the firepower of US forces has quadrupled since 2003"
Castro outlines the pretext for war:
I do not harbor the slightest doubt that as soon as the warships of the United States and Israel take up their positions – together with the rest of the U.S. military vessels located in the vicinity of the Iranian coasts – and attempt to inspect that country’s first merchant ship, a rain of missiles will be unleashed in both directions. That will be the precise moment when that terrible war will begin. It is not possible to foresee how many ships will be sunk nor of what ensign.
They are correct. The purpose of the war will not be to do anything about a non-existing Iranian nuclear weapons program (which everybody in power knows does not exist), but to destroy as much of Iran as possible to punish it for its anti-Zionist stance.