The deputy head of Safety and Security at Iran’s Atomic Agency reports that malware planted for sabotage was discovered at the newly launched facilities for converting uranium dioxide to natural uranium.
Asghar Zarean told reporters that the industrial malware was discovered and its threats were defused before the launch.
The new facility for the production of low-grade enriched uranium was launched on August 23.
Zarean said: “It is clear to us that counties such as Germany, France and the UK, led by the United States, are engaged in this process and are trying to sabotage our peaceful nuclear activities.”
IRNA reports that Zarean was speaking at the Combating Industrial Espionage Fair in Tehran when he said that the attempts at sabotage were neutralized with assistance from the Ministry of Intelligence.
The most serious attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities is said to have taken place in 2010, when reports said that its systems had been infected by the computer virus Stuxnet. The virus reportedly was aimed at sabotaging and collecting intelligence from the nuclear facilities. Some reports indicated that the virus was created as a joint effort between the U.S. and Israel.
