TEHRAN (Fars News Agency)- Oxford researchers say aerial attack will not only fail to hinder nuclear development but also spur Iran's drive for achieving nuclear power. 
 
An Oxford University study claims a US attack of Iran's nuclear facilities will backfire - both failing to destroy the centrifuges being used to enrich uranium and lead Iran to step up its push for nuclear power, a report published Monday by British daily the Guardian said.

In a report for the Oxford Research Group (ORG) arms and nuclear expert Dr. Frank Barnaby, a British nuclear weapons scientist, also claims that an attack on the Bushehr nuclear facility will likely result in large-scale damage to the surrounding area. According to Barnaby the number of civilian casualties risked in such an attack will be very high since there will be no warning in advance and most will be caught unprepared.

"As soon as you start bombing you unite the population behind the government," Dr Barnaby told The Guardian. "Right now in Iran, there are different opinions about all this, but after an attack you would have a united people and a united scientific community."

The report also says that an attack may lead to Iran quitting the non-proliferation treaty and barring UN inspectors from its facilities. It could also lead to the departure of Russian experts at an Iranian nuclear reactor at Bushehr, leaving a potential source of plutonium unmonitored, the report warned.

The report also warns that if Tehran "devoted maximum effort and resources to building one nuclear bomb" it could be achieved within a "relatively short amount of time".

Air strikes upon the country, believed to be a consideration of the US government if diplomacy does not yield results, would also be problematic according to Mr. Barnaby.

The report says, "It is also conceivable that Iran has built false targets, installations that appear to hold nuclear facilities but in fact act as decoys."

Mr. Barnaby adds, "With inadequate intelligence, it is unlikely that it would be possible to identify and subsequently destroy the number of targets needed to set back Iran's nuclear program for a significant period."