UK, Germany, France abet US in Iran nuclear sabotage: Official

26 August 2014 | 21:21 Code : 1937481 Latest Headlines

A senior Iranian nuclear official says Germany, France and Britain have been participating in the US-led campaign to sabotage Iran’s nuclear facilities.

“It is evident for us that countries like Germany, France and Britain are involved in this process, spearheaded by the US, and they seek to disrupt our peaceful nuclear activities,” deputy head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) for protection and security affairs, Asghar Zare’an, said on Monday.

He warned that foreign countries are making efforts to sabotage Iran’s infrastructure in an attempt to bring a halt to the country’s nuclear energy program.

“Their approach is not limited to Iran’s nuclear activities and it targets defense and telecommunications sectors, and other sensitive and vital centers of the country,” the official pointed out.

The AEOI has successfully detected and thwarted several malwares over the past year, including a number of instances at the Uranium Conversion Facility (UCF) of the central city of Isfahan, he added.

According to media reports in July 2011, a malware dubbed Stuxnet had targeted industrial computers around the globe, with Iran being the main target of the attack. The reports said Iran's newly launched Bushehr nuclear power plant was at the center of the cyber attack.

However, Iranian experts detected Stuxnet in time, averting any damage to the country's industrial sites and resources.

Furthermore, in June 2012, the Washington Post reported that US National Security Agency, CIA and Israel's military worked together to create the Flame virus to target Iran's nuclear energy facilities.