MOSCOW (Sputnik) — UK intelligence officials have come to a conclusion that Iran, not Russia, was behind a cyberattack on country's parliament in June 2017, local media reported Saturday citing sources.
In June, the UK parliament faced an unprecedented cyberattack, which lasted over 12 hours and affected around 9,000 email accounts, including the accounts of parliament members and Prime Minister Theresa May.
According to sources from UK government, the intelligence officials initially suspected Russia of being responsible for the attack, but now they have come to the conclusion that the attack was launched from Iran, The Telegraph newspaper reported.
The reasons behind such attack are unknown, but experts reportedly suggested that Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps might have carried out the attack to undermine the nuclear deal as it wants Tehran to continue its weapons program.
The news comes amid growing concerns that the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on Iran's nuclear program might collapse over US President Donald Trump's plans to withdraw from the deal.
The United Kingdom was among the countries which expressed support for the JCPOA after Trump announced on Friday that his administration had decided not to re-certify Iran's compliance with the deal.
UK, German and French leaders issued a joint statement saying they were concerned by the possible consequences of his move. They urged the US Congress, which has 60 days to decide whether to reintroduce sanctions on Iran, to weigh security implications of ending the pact.
