The plan is for an eventual WW3 but not before all the infrastructure of tyranny in the USA and the other major western nations is fully in place, as they want a lockdown and state of crisis to make the propaganda work more effectively.
There will be a pre-emptive strike on Iran, I am sure, but it will be a stepping stone / precursor to a general world war, not the trigger event itself.
I would recommend this long but very detailed video which explains a fair amount of the rationale:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzjm9MJFSA8
Then you need to read "How The End Begins" by Ron Rosenbaum (2012).