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Dutch spies hid engineer’s role in paralysing Iran nuclear project

Erik van Sabben released a Stuxnet computer worm that compromised Tehran’s weapons programme. Weeks later, he was dead

A Dutch engineer played the “crucial role” in a mission to sabotage Iran’s nuclear weapons programme with a sophisticated computer virus as part of a US and Israeli mission, without the knowledge of his country’s government.

Erik van Sabben released the “very advanced” computer worm known as Stuxnet into the Natanz underground nuclear plant’s computer systems at the end of 2008, bringing the Iranian nuclear programme to a grinding halt. He was killed in a road accident two weeks later.

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