The United States attacked and disabled a critical Iranian data base used to target oil tankers in the Persian Gulf, the New York Times reported Wednesday, citing several US security officials.
The cyber strike on the Islamic Revolutionary Guards’ intelligence group diminished Iran’s ability to conduct covert attacks, the report quoted a senior official as saying.
The US launched the strike in July after Iran shot down a US drone.
US President Donald Trump had called off a military strike 10 minutes before they were to be carried out after being told some 150 people could die.
“I didn’t think it was proportionate,” he said in an interview with NBC News’ Meet the Press.
Instead, the US carried out a cyber attack, part of a long-running cyber war between the US and Iran.
The Stuxnet virus, discovered in 2010, is believed to have been engineered by Israel and the US to damage nuclear facilities in Iran.
And Tehran is believed to have stepped up its own cyber capabilities in the face of US efforts to isolate the Islamic Republic.
The report said that though the effects of the operation were designed to be temporary, they have lasted longer than expected and Iran is still trying to repair critical communications systems and has not recovered the data lost in the attack, officials said.
The report said Iran has yet to respond to the cyber attack.
Meanwhile, Iran continues to hold the British-flagged oil tanker Stena Impero, which it seized in a commando-style raid July 19 after the taking of the Adrian Darya. Analysts suggested the release of the Adrian Darya would see the Stena Impero released, but that has yet to happen.
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