Snowden Asserts that NSA and Israel Collaborated to Launch Cyber Attacks on Iran’s Uranium Facilities

Eweek.com on July 8, 2013 reported quoting an interview of Whistleblower Edward Snowden with a German magazine Der Spiegel, stating NSA collaborated with Israeli government to create a program used in a cyber-attack to disrupt Iran's uranium processing capability which delayed its nuclear ambitions.

The interview of Snowden describes that prior to his release of classified intelligence documents, NSA and other nation's intelligence agencies conducted the broad surveillance. Snowden also asserted that NSA shares surveillance and cooperates with other nations including Israel.

When Snowden was asked if NSA helped to create Stuxnet, he replied "NSA and Israel co-wrote it". This was reported by eweek.com on 8th July, 2013.

Snowden also said that they cooperate all the time and NSA has massive body responsible for this: FAD, Foreign Affairs Directorate.

Many in the security community had suspected that Stuxnet is the work of United States and not Israel.

New York Times reporter David Sanger wrote in 2012 that Stuxnet was part of Bush-era joint US and Israeli program with a codenamed Olympic Games which was designed to sabotage Iran's nuclear program.

The report further claimed that attacks on Iran's nuclear program were ordered by US President Barack Obama.

Neither Jerusalem nor Washington has acknowledged any relation with the virus or any other such things which has struck Iran.

However, Semi official Iranian Fars news agency published a report as "US intelligence officials revealed in April 2012 that Stuxnet malware was not only designed to disrupt Iran's nuclear program but it was also meant to assassin Iran's nuclear scientists." This news was published by timesofisrael.com on 8th July, 2013.

While US Department of Justice is probing the matter, a former Vice-Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff General James Cartwright is currently under investigation for leaking details of operation Olympic Games to the media.

And while the probe is on, Snowden continues to be on the run, requesting political asylum from Venezuela, India, Nicaragua, Russia, and a host of other countries. Most of the countries have turned down his appeal but Venezuela has granted him asylum. Snowden if arrested would booked for espionage in a US court and be detained for several years.

» SPAMfighter News - 7/18/2013