US Bugging Devices Exposed

Head of Iran's Civil Defense Organization Gholamreza Jalali said on Monday security forces have found electronic bugging devices in the country's infrastructures that had been embedded by the US for sabotage and espionage.

"The Americans have placed bugging devices in Iran's infrastructures with sabotage, data surveillance and espionage capabilities and we have discovered a number of them," Jalali told reporters in Tehran on Monday, Fars News Agency reported.

"We classified Iran's infrastructures into several groups, including power, energy, communications, oil and media, and examined them, and we discovered some of them [the US bugging devices] in certain infrastructures," he added.

Asked about Iran's plans to produce highly secure smartphones for the country's officials, Jalali said the officials whose whereabouts are of vital importance and any information about their location could be used against them are not allowed to use smartphones.

"We have also devised systems for other officials to protect and secure their cellphones," he added.

His remarks alluded to the New York Times' February report saying that in the early years of President Barack Obama's tenure, the US had developed an elaborate plan for a cyberattack on Iran in case diplomatic efforts to limit its nuclear program failed and led to a military conflict.

The plan, codenamed Nitro Zeus, was devised to disable Iran's air defenses, communications systems and crucial parts of its power grid, and was shelved, at least for the foreseeable future, after last year's nuclear deal was struck between Iran and major powers.