Teheran: Saudis plotting with Israel on new computer worm to sabotage Iranian nuclear program

The Iranian state-owned news agency reports that last week, the Saudi spy agency & Israel’s Mossad hashed out a proposal for production of malware ‘worse than the Stuxnet.’

 

 

Israel and Saudi Arabia are reportedly collaborating to create a new destructive computer worm to “spy on and destroy the software structure” of Iran‘s nuclear program, the semi-official Iranian news agency Fars said over the weekend.

Uranium conversion facility in Isfahan, Iran

A technician checks valves at the uranium conversion facility in Isfahan, Iran, February 3, 2007.- Photo: Reuters

Fars, the outlet of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, quoted “an informed source” close to the Saudi secret service as saying that Saudi spy chief Prince Bandar bin Sultan and Mossad head Tamir Pardo each sent a representative to Vienna on November 24 with the purpose of increasing the “‘two sides’ cooperation in intelligence and sabotage operations against Iran’s nuclear program.”

“One of the proposals raised in the meeting was the production of a malware worse than the Stuxnet to spy on and destroy the software structure of Iran’s nuclear program,” the source was quoted by Fars, referring to a computer virus unleashed in 2010 targeting Iran’s uranium enrichment facility at Natanz. American whistleblower Edward Snowden told Der Spiegel this year that the U.S. and Israel cooperated to produce the virus.

Arab media reported last week that Prince Bandar took part in a meeting in Tel Aviv with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and French President Francois Hollande to discuss U.S. relations with Iran.

Meanwhile, the Sunday Times reported the week before that Israel and Saudi Arabia had been working together secretly on plans for a possible attack against Iran in case the Geneva talks fail to roll back its nuclear program.

The two countries’ shared concern has put them at odds with the United States as the latter continues to seek an agreement with Iran to ease economic sanctions in return for pulling back nuclear development.

 

View original HAARETZ publication at: http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/1.561088