If you are planning Air operations you want the Dark of the moon. That is the 29th of March. Thus if the US attacks on the 28th you have 3-4 days of almost no moon. This is aided by the fact that on the 29th the Moon raises just before sunrise and sets just before sunset, you have even less light than other NEW Moons. This is do to the fact that in that week for all practical purposes the moon and sun raise and sets together (Off by a few minutes and changes over time, but you have less light at night than any other time of the month).
Unlike Ground operations which tends to start on the full-moon, Air operations tend to start on the New Moon. The reason for the difference is that night vision goggles enhance what light is available. Star light is often good enough to detect someone moving, or walls or other tall obstacles , but when it comes ot holes, Ditches and other ground level obstacles, for night vision to detect such holes and ditches you need something to light up the internal of the Hole the Ditch or other obstacles. The best thing to light up these holes and ditches is Moonlight for it is NOT a source of light that the other side can detect and fire at. Lasers are #2, but can be detected by the enemy using night vision goggles also (and thus can be fired upon). Flairs are #3 (Lights up the whole area, but everyone sees it and can use the light from the flare), fourth is interred light (but like Lasers can be detected and by anyone with a WWII era inter red light detector, not hard to make let alone obtain in addition Starlight scopes), fifth is a regular light with a red filter (Design to keep the light down to the minimal needed) and fifth is a regular light (Which anyone can see and use, including the enemy).
AS you can see Ground operations generally take place on the full moon. On the other hand air operations do NOT have ot worry about holes and ditches. With GPS can drop a bomb or missile on a target without even seeing the target. Thus an air attack doe snot need light and thus best done in the Dark of the Moon where the enemy has the least light to detect the plane of even if it is being attacked.
Thus the reason for the attack set for March 28th is to take advantage of America's advantage in night attack capability (Including GPS, Terrain guidance technology, Night Vision technology, and even radar guidance technology) over the Iranian superior knowledge of their own terrain.
The following information is provided for Iran (longitude 51 degree, 25 Minutes East, 35 Degree, 41 Minutes North and it si +3.3 Greenwich mean time):
Tuesday
28 March 2006 Universal Time + 3:30
SUN
Begin civil twilight: 05:32 (5:32 AM)
Sunrise: 05:57 (5:57 AM)
Sun transit: 12:09 hours
Sunset: 18:22 (6:22 PM)
End civil twilight: 18:48 (6:48 PM)
MOON
Moon-set 16:05 (5:05 PM on March 27th) on preceding day
Moon-rise 05:20 (5:20 AM)
Moon transit: 11:14 Hours
Moon-set: 17:19 (5:19 PM)
Moon-rise: 05:49 (5:49 AM on March 29th) on following day
Phase of the Moon on 28 March: waning crescent with 2% of the Moon's visible disk illuminated.
New Moon on 29 March 2006 at 13:47 (Universal Time + 3:30).
US Navy Sight for Moonlight and Sunlight for any Location:
http://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/docs/RS_OneDay.html#formbLatitude and Longitude for Iran (and other Countries and Cites see:
http://www.bcca.org/misc/qiblih/latlong_oc.html#IRAN
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