U.S. Reportedly Hit Iran with Cyber Attacks After Drone Downed

According to U.S. media, the White House ordered the launch of cyberattacks against Iranian missile systems and a Guld-based spy network after Tehran downed an American surveillance drone. In response, U.S. President Donald Trump green-lighted retaliatory military strikes but called them off only 10 minutes in advance when officials informed him that the assault would have killed an estimated 150 people. Instead, the American leader reportedly authorized U.S. Cyber Command to target limited Iranian military infrastructure as well as a spy group that supposedly tracks ships in the Strait of Hormuz, close to where Washington accuses Iran of planning and directing recent attacks on six oil tankers. Moreover, President Trump this weekend vowed to impose “major” additional sanctions on the Islamic Republic, whose economy is already reeling, a situation that many blame for the regime’s alleged heightened aggression in the Gulf. The downing of the drone in particular – which Washington insists was flying over international waters but Tehran claims was in its airspace – has caused tensions between the rival countries to rise further. Meanwhile, Iranian leaders will on June 28 meet in Brussels with counterparts from the remaining parties to the 2015 nuclear deal – Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China – in a bid to salvage the economic benefits the accord provided to Tehran in exchange for a commitment to curbing its nuclear program. Otherwise, the mullahs have threatened to begin enriching uranium to near-weapons grade levels.