Trump Regime Waging Cyberwar on Iran

by Stephen Lendman (stephenlendman.org - Home - Stephen Lendman)

The Trump regime is waging all-out war on Iran by other means. Short of turning hot so far, the risk of going this far is ominously real.

Longstanding US plans call for toppling its government. Last week, things came perilously close to Trump ordering attacks on Iranian targets, virtually assuring a strong response if this happens ahead.

Trump saying on Saturday that he wants to be Iran's "best friend…when they agree (not) to have a nuclear weapon" its ruling authorities never sought and don't want belies his extreme hostility toward the country and its people by his malign actions.

On Thursday after Iran downed a Pentagon spy drone, provocatively in its airspace after ignoring multiple warnings to leave, the Pentagon's Cyber Command disabled Iranian military command and control computer systems, its missile control systems also targeted.

Reportedly, plans for the attack were in the works for weeks. The US and Israel collaborated in the development of the Stuxnet worm used in 2010 against Iran's Bushehr nuclear facility.

Operations were halted. Israel was blamed. So was Washington. Had the facility gone online infected, Iran's entire electrical power grid could have been shut down.

In 2016, the US reportedly pursued a project called Nitro Zeus, involving malware covertly built into targeted systems when designed, assuring a more effective attack to disrupt and degrade them.

In response to the earlier Stuxnet attack, Iran hardened and disconnected its power grid from the Internet to avoid similar attacks. 

Days earlier, John Bolton said the Trump regime was increasing cyber operations against Russia, China, Iran, North Korea, and other US adversaries.

Days earlier, Tass reported that Russia thwarted US cyberattacks on the control systems of its transport, banking, and energy infrastructure.

An unnamed Russian security source said "(w)e see and note such attempts. However, we manage to neutralize these actions."

Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia countered numerous foreign cyberattacks on its systems, adding efforts keep working on more effective ways to thwart them.

Iran hasn't commented about Saturday's US cyberattack so far. The neocon/CIA-connected Washington Post and other US media reported that Trump authorized it in response to the downing of a US spy plane — illegally operating in its airspace.

The White House declined to comment about the issue. Nor did the Pentagon, a spokesperson saying "(a)s a matter of policy and for operational security, we do not discuss cyberspace operations, intelligence or planning."

WaPo said "Thursday's strikes against (Iran's) Revolutionary Guard represented the first (known) offensive show of force since Cyber Command was elevated to a full combatant command in May."

It's unclear how much damage was done to Iranian systems and how long it will take to restore things to normal operational capabilities.

Iran is able to retaliate by launching its own cyberattacks. According to DHS cybersecurity and infrastructure security agency head Christopher Krebs, Iranian cyber expertise can "come in and…burn the house down" — referring to shutting down computer networks.

The Islamic Republic is a prime US target for regime change. Self-defense is a universal right under international law. 

Its authorities are legally entitled to respond defensively to hostile  actions by the US, Israel, and its imperial partners.

Iran seeks regional peace, stability and cooperative relations with other countries. It'll do whatever it takes to defend its security and sovereign rights against hostile actions threatening its security.

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