Jerusalem:

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that Israel would do “everything” to stop Iran acquiring a nuclear weapon after Iran’s top diplomat warned it could end its ban on developing one if Western sanctions are reimposed.

The renewed war of words between the Middle East foes came as Iran prepares to hold key nuclear talks with European governments on Friday which have been overshadowed by their joining with Washington to have Tehran censured by the UN atomic watchdog.

“I will do everything to prevent it from becoming a nuclear (power), I will use all the resources that can be used,” Netanyahu told Israeli broadcaster Channel 14 in an interview.

Israel is the region’s sole, if undeclared, nuclear-armed state. It has long made preventing any rival from matching it its top defence priority.

Netanyahu said Tuesday that the ceasefire that went into effect in Lebanon the following day would allow Israel to focus on Iran. He did not elaborate on what action he envisaged.

Iran launched two missile barrages at Israel over the past year in retaliation for the killing of leaders from Hamas and Hezbollah, as well as an Iranian general.

Israel responded both times with limited attacks on Iran, most recently bombing several military sites on October 26.

Last week’s chiding at the International Atomic Energy Agency prompted a defiant response from Tehran, but its officials have since signalled willingness to engage with others ahead of the return of US president-elect Donald Trump, whose last administration pursued a policy of “maximum pressure” against Iran.

– Current doctrine ‘insufficient’ –

Iran insists on its right to nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, but according to the IAEA, it is the only non-nuclear-weapon state enriching uranium to 60 percent.

In an interview with The Guardian newspaper, published on the eve of Iran’s talks with Britain, France and Germany, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned that frustration in Tehran over unmet commitments, such as lifting sanctions, was fuelling debate over whether the country should alter its nuclear policy.

“We have no intention to go further than 60 percent for the time being, and this is our determination right now,” he told the British daily.

But, he added, “there is this debate going on in Iran, and mostly among the elites… whether we should change our nuclear doctrine” as so far it has proven to be “insufficient in practice”.

A 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and major powers aimed to give Iran relief from crippling Western sanctions in exchange for limiting its nuclear programme to prevent it from developing a weapons capability.

Tehran has consistently denied any such ambition. Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final authority in Iran’s decision-making, has issued a religious decree, or fatwa, prohibiting atomic weapons.

Tehran’s willingness to sit down with the three European governments so soon after the censure comes just weeks before Trump is set to return to the White House.

During his first term, Trump focused on reimposing heavy sanctions on Iran following his administration’s unilateral withdrawal from the 2015 deal three years after it was agreed.

In retaliation for the US withdrawal, Tehran reduced its compliance with the deal, raising its uranium enrichment levels to 60 percent — closer to the 90 percent required for a nuclear bomb.

– ‘Legal obligations’ –

Under the 2015 accord — which will expire in October 2025 — Iran’s enrichment was capped at 3.67 percent.

Iranian diplomat Majid Takht-Ravanchi, who serves as the political deputy to Araghchi, is scheduled to represent Iran in Friday’s talks.

He will meet beforehand with Enrique Mora, deputy secretary general of the European Union’s foreign affairs arm, according to Iran’s official news agency IRNA.

Last week, the 35-nation board of governors of the IAEA adopted a resolution proposed by Britain, France, Germany and the United States condemning Iran for its lack of cooperation on nuclear issues.

Iran described the move as “politically motivated” and in response announced the launch of “new advanced centrifuges” designed to increase its stockpile of enriched uranium.

For Tehran, the goal of the talks on Friday is to avoid a “double disaster” scenario, in which it would face renewed pressures from both Trump and European governments, according to political analyst Mostafa Shirmohammadi.

He noted that Iran’s support among European governments had been eroded by allegations it offered military assistance for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Iran has denied these accusations and hopes to mend relations with Europe, while also maintaining a firm stance.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

It’s June, 2009. The streets of Tehran have erupted in protests over the results of a presidential election. The incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has emerged victorious with an overwhelming majority against Mir-Hossein Mousavi. Protesters alleged a fraudulent victory. Among them is a woman named Neda Agha-Soltan, who on her way to join the main protests, parked her car at some distance from the gathering and stepped out as the vehicle’s air conditioner was not working. As she breathed in the fresh air, a sniper belonging to a government-funded militia took aim and shot her square in the chest. She was dead.

While this was unfolding in Tehran, around 300 kilometres to the south at the Natanz nuclear facility, the heart of Iran’s nuclear program – ‘strange’ things were happening. Just days after Neda’s death, the CIA reportedly received approval to initiate a cyber operation against this facility. The operation involved uploading a sophisticated piece of malware, known as Stuxnet, directly onto Iranian hardware. This malware had been in development for years, a collaborative effort between the United States and Israel, and represented the world’s first digital weapon.

Stuxnet: The Genesis

Stuxnet was not a new presence in Iran’s nuclear infrastructure; it had been causing disruptions for years. However, this new version was designed to deliver a decisive blow. 

The story of Stuxnet’s development and deployment began years earlier. The inception of Stuxnet can be traced back to the early 2000s, during a period of heightened tension between Iran and Western nations over Iran’s nuclear ambitions. The Bush administration, concerned about Iran’s potential to develop nuclear weapons, sought unconventional methods to impede Tehran’s progress. Thus, the covert operation codenamed ‘Olympic Games’ was born. This initiative, involving close collaboration between the CIA, the NSA, and Israel’s Mossad, aimed to create a digital weapon capable of physically disrupting Iran’s nuclear enrichment capabilities.

Stuxnet was not an ordinary piece of malware. Its design reflected a level of sophistication unprecedented in the realm of cyber weapons. The malware targeted Siemens Step7 software, used to control industrial equipment, specifically focusing on the centrifuges at Iran’s Natanz uranium enrichment facility. These centrifuges, essential for enriching uranium, operated at high speeds and required precise control to function correctly.

Stuxnet: The Execution

The US built a replica of Iran’s nuclear facility in its Oak Ridge facility in the state of Tennessee, where they meticulously studied the centrifuges to understand how to sabotage them without detection. In 2007, the first version of Stuxnet was released, targeting these centrifuges by preventing the release of pressure through the valves, causing the uranium gas to solidify and the centrifuges to spin out of control and ultimately self-destruct.

Iran’s nuclear facility was air-gapped, meaning its network was offline, so Stuxnet had to be introduced via an inside agent using a USB drive. The malware operated undetected, using a rootkit to hide its presence and stolen digital certificates to appear as legitimate commands. Despite its effectiveness, initial versions of Stuxnet only slowed Iran’s progress, and did not sabotage it entirely.

In response, US researchers developed a more aggressive version of Stuxnet, using four zero-day exploits and stolen private keys to sign its commands. This version could spread rapidly, even across air-gapped networks, and reprogram the centrifuges to destroy themselves while masking the sabotage as hardware malfunctions.

Stuxnet: The Implications

An insider at Natanz introduced this new version of Stuxnet, and it quickly spread throughout the facility’s network. However, its aggressive nature led to unintended consequences: the malware spread beyond Natanz, infecting computers across Iran and eventually the globe. The CIA, realising the uncontrollable spread of Stuxnet, decided to continue with the operation, hoping it would remain undetected within Natanz.

Their hopes were dashed when cybersecurity firm Symantec discovered Stuxnet and published a detailed report on the malware. Iran soon realised the extent of the cyber attack and took measures to protect their nuclear program. Despite the setbacks caused by Stuxnet, Iran vowed to continue its nuclear ambitions.

One of the earlier hints of Stuxnet’s existence emerged in June 2010 when a Belarusian cybersecurity firm discovered an unusual piece of malware on an Iranian computer. As cybersecurity experts from around the world began analysing the code, they were astounded by its complexity and purpose. 

Impact On Iran’s Nuclear Program

Stuxnet’s impact on Iran’s nuclear program was significant but not immediately catastrophic. By 2009, Iran had installed over 7,000 centrifuges at Natanz, but Stuxnet caused approximately 1,000 of these to fail. The disruptions forced Iran to temporarily halt its enrichment activities and replace the damaged equipment, delaying its nuclear ambitions by several months to years.

The Iranian government, initially oblivious to the cause of the centrifuge failures, eventually recognised the cyber intrusion. Publicly, Iran downplayed the impact of Stuxnet, but internally, it spurred significant investment in cybersecurity measures and the development of offensive cyber capabilities.

Over the following years, targeted assassinations of key Iranian nuclear scientists further crippled their program. Car bombings and other attacks eliminated many of the leaders involved, including the director of the Natanz facility.

Stuxnet: Global Fallout

Stuxnet did not confine itself to Iran. It spread to other countries, including India, Indonesia, and Pakistan, affecting industrial systems worldwide. In India, several critical infrastructure facilities,  reportedly infecting as many as 80,000 computers. Several power plants and manufacturing units were also found to be vulnerable to similar attacks.

In 2013, India adopted the National Cyber Security Policy which focused on “protection of information infrastructure and preservation of the confidentiality, integrity and availability of information in cyberspace”. The following year, the Centre announced the formation of the National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre to further safeguard India’s cyber security space.