The United States had a plan for an extensive cyber attack on Iran in case diplomatic attempts to curtail its nuclear program failed, The New York Times reported on Tuesday, citing a forthcoming documentary and military and intelligence officials.
Code-named Nitro Zeus, the plan was aimed at crippling Iran's air defenses, communications systems and key parts of its electrical power grid, but was put on hold after a nuclear deal was reached last year, the Times said.
The plan developed by the Pentagon was intended to assure President Barack Obama that he had alternatives to war if Iran moved against the United States or its regional allies, and at one point involved thousands of U.S. military and intelligence personnel, the report said. It also called for spending tens of millions of dollars and putting electronic devices in Iran's computer networks, the Times said.
U.S. intelligence agencies at the same time developed a separate plan for a covert cyberattack to disable Iran's Fordo nuclear enrichment site inside a mountain near the city of Qom, the report said.