According to Yahoo News, U.S. Cyber Command launched a retaliatory digital strike on Thursday night against an Iranian spy group responsible for last week’s bombings of two oil tankers.
For the past several years, the spy group has tracked civilian and military vessels that pass through the Strait of Hormuz. The groups are connected with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Tensions between the United States and Iran reached new heights as Iran took down a U.S. drone that was flying over the Persian Gulf. After that, the U.S. stated that around 1,000 troops will be deployed as Iran threatened that they will surpass the limit on the uranium enrichment for the first time after the Obama-era deal was abandoned by the Trump administration.
Intelligence officers have also hacked into ship-tracking websites to keep tabs on vessels in the area. Beyond ships, Iran claimed in 2011 to have hacked into the digital system of a U.S. drone to bring it to Iranian shores, The Hill reports.
About a third of all oil is traded by sea passes, that is why maintaining its presence in this area is very important to Iran.
Matthew Levitt, the director of the counterterrorism program at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, was talking with Yahoo News on the topic and he said:
‘’It doesn’t entirely surprise me to find out that there is yet another way in which Iran is trying to find ways to flex its muscles, in particular regarding shipping in the Gulf. Iran is trying to respond to the U.S. maximum pressure campaign, in particular, now that still tougher measures have been taken to constrict the amount of oil Iran is able to ship and the amount of money it can get for it.’’
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