An Iranian security specialist attempting to counter the voracious Stuxnet worm has reportedly been assassinated near a top-secret lab in Tehran.
According to DebkaFile, the death of Prof. Majid Shahriari is expected to significantly affect Iran’s ability to purge the destructive worm from its military and nuclear networks.
Although exact details of the assassination remain unclear, it seems as if Shahriari was killed in a drive-by shooting that may have also involved the planting and detonation of explosives by unknown operatives on speeding motorcycles.
The attack apparently occurred in a “secure” district of Tehran, where top-secret labs related to Iran’s nuclear program are located.
So, who executed the attack?
Unsurprisingly, Tehran is blaming US intelligence agencies and the Israeli Mossad.
However, other intelligence sources suggest that a Sunni militant group known as Jundallah (Soldiers of Allah) – which opposes the current Iranian regime – may have been responsible for the operation.
Indeed, the organization has already targeted a number of nuclear scientists and recently claimed responsibility for the abduction of a researcher who worked at the Isfahan nuclear facility.
