Iran is a founding member of the United Nations Committee for the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS). Per the Outer Space Treaty Iran has as much right to the use of outer space for peaceful purposes as any other country. COPUOS has identified use of space as the primary driver for sustainable development. In 2020 the General Assembly is expected to endorse the Space 2030 Agenda to further the use of space to advance development, combat climate change and address numerous other issues.
In 2009 under the leadership of the U.S. a Summit was organized within by the Security Council to address nuclear proliferation. The agreement reached among the P5 + EU at that conference enabled the sanctions authorized by UNSCR1927 in 2010 and the subsequent negotiation of JCPOA.
The CIA and other intelligence agencies confirm that Iran is compliant with JCPOA and is not developing nuclear weapons. The JCPOA and associated sanctions are clearly an effective multilateral solution to address the threat of nuclear weapons by an isolated Iran.
The clear success of JCPOA suggests that a comparable path could be taken to address the complex issue of missiles and peaceful use of outer space. Like with JCPOA the EU and other powers would have much to offer Iran to return greater value from use of space to the people of Iran. Clear guidelines could emerge from a missiles and space use summit that could be applied elsewhere such as DPRK. In the U.S. absence the EU could advance a JCPOA2.
1
Undermining the non-nuclear proliferation treaty, pressing the EU to leave it, sabotaging their missile program, fighting proxy wars to no end... and people wonder why the Ayatollah has been saying "death to America?"
The USA is doing the bidding of Israel and Saudi Arabia, by helping to remove their "existential threat" and hegemonic foe from the region, and putting the world on extremely precarious footing by doing so.
2
I guess it's not secret anymore. Nice going,whoever.
1
With Russia as Iran’s backer, does this really work? Now that the gloves are off between Russians and Americans, Iran probably could just purchase sophisticated Russian weaponry. In exchange for port access. Or weapons technology. This is trump bullying.
Well, it is certainly not a secret any longer, which is fine because this draws attention to the dedication of our enemies to destroy us and our allies. Is there anyone out there who still believes this is just a space program?
1
An unexpectedly large number of commenters on this story worry that the New York Times is giving away national secrets that Iran did not know about. The Iranians, however, know beyond any doubt that the US and Israel have trying to sabotage their missile program and murder their top rocket engineers. It's hard to imagine that Iran will never be able to produce ICBMs--they have already placed small satellites in orbit, after all. The US and Israel will have some success, like stuxnet, but the Iranians will never stop improving their military. All countries do that.
1
A note to the editor: when a piece about government activity is published on the front page of the NYT citing government personnel as sources, there are many wonderful adjectives that your writers may truthfully deploy, but “secret” isn’t one of them.
1
If the US can sit down and talk with the Taliban, it can sit down and talk with Iran. This is warmongering; the treaty, whether flawed or not, indicated that the USA and Iran can be something other than mortal enemies. The fact that such serious and sensitive issues are in the hands of such an incompetent bunch in the US is what is truly frightening.
4
If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. Iran will eventually succeed.
Better to put away the sanctions that disproportionately hurt society's most vulnerable and start or restart a dialogue of cooperation rather than confrontation.
There are a number of areas of common cause that could be used to build mutual trust, we just have to isolate one or two and start.
4
This is so deeply sad and worthy of decision makers who have never psychologically left early adolescence. Still, it's better than a direct military confrontation. Seemingly every measure is being tried except diplomacy to deal with Iran's ambitions. JCPOA should have been a stepping stone to broader understandings on regional security. Why and by whom was this report leaked since it's supposed to be 'covert'?
1
Pray tell, how do you go about "encouraging stability in the Middle East," while seeking to destabilize one of the major countries in the region. Is it beyond the ken of our illustrious Secretary of State that his mafia-like efforts to undermine Iran will reverberate throughout the region? With people like Pompeo in charge, stability for the Middle East is a long way off.
3
So, we have a secret program to damage Iran's missile program and it appears to have worked. Also the Iranians had a suspicion that something was going on to damage their program. Now that the NYT has published how we are damaging their program, they no longer have to figure it out for themselves. What purpose is served publishing secret programs to make us safer? Is it all about getting an exclusive. I'm glad we have a program like this. I suspect the Iranians are happy to learn how the secret program works.
2
Now that is in the paper, it isn't a secret anymore.
1
Thanks for publishing this. I'm sure our enemies really appreciate it. It really gives this paper a lot of credibility when they insinuate Trump is in the pocket of the Russians. Honestly, the FBI should be visiting you and anyone involved with publishing this piece should be arrested and tried for treason. You clearly do not have the interests of this country at heart.
2
To retaliate, am hearing the Iranians are re-writing the laws of gas dynamics and heat transport to cause all of our future hypersonic planes to melt down and burn up...
Next thing you know, the Hyperloop will be rendered inoperable...
2
Then I guess it’s not a secret program. Maybe it should be called an “open secret” since we learned about it years ago?
Congratulations to the NY Times for undermining our national security for the Democrats best friends in Tehran. It was glossed over that the Obama Administration mothballed the operation for the very good people on the other side of our interests - yes, the ones who chant "Death to America" everyday. Thanks to Mike Pompeo for reinvigorating our efforts to prevent Iranian missile terror. Shame on the NY Times for revealing national security secrets.
2
Adding insult to injury may be unwise; it certainly does not further diplomacy.
But it is typical of trump's belittling insults to call the Korean missile "No Dong".
Perhaps the headline could have been a bit clearer. Rather than trying to appear as if “revealing” the “secret”.
What? Why is a secret program involving national security being broadcast in an American newspaper?
Imagine the outcry if this was published by Wikileaks. Or on Facebook, heaven forfend! . I hate that word "hypocritical"; it's so junior high school. Still, it does have it's moments.
4
Yet again the U.S. defense establishment’s delusional obsession with Iran has been revealed. Countless billions continue to be spent on aggression against a country that does not harm American interests significantly. Hawks in our government confuse U.S. security with the bombastic rhetoric of our “allies” in the Middle East towards Iran. Of course, this sort of dangerous escalation also helps to line the pockets of our hawks, who are deeply enmeshed with the defense industry, as evidenced by Pompeo’s business venture.
As Eisenhower warned, the dysfunctional relationship between our government and defense industry is perilous. It confounds our national priorities, incentivizing unwise wars and blinding us to real threats. In the current political moment it is tempting to discuss Trump’s alleged collusion with foreign powers to the exclusion of other topics. It is far more important, however, that we address the domestic collusion that continues to steer our defense policy, for this is more corrosive than any foreign plot could be.
5
I agree with those who feel this information should have remained covert. Our trouble with Iran started with the demise of the Shah, and has continued to date.
Yes, we are not be perfect. Neither is Iran. It has acted the same way, and in some cases, tantamount to a colonial power, and has hurt and/or destroyed other third party countries in the Middle East, that do not adhere to Iran's dominant religion. In summation, there is plenty of blame to go around for everyone.
2
It’s not very “secret,” is it?
2
One of the main reasons we have not invaded this country on behest of Israel is because they do have missiles that can reach Israel. I can just imagine if they had & have been doing to us what we & Israel do to them, what would be happening. They have a right to defend themselves, esp against the constant threats hurled at them. And the fact that we are trying to destroy the country with our sanctions. With no idea what would take it's place.
5
The US simply proves for Iran that to have peace you need a .45 Colt Peacemaker.
N Korea loves its shiny Colt Peacemaker and shows it off.
Israel keeps its Colt ready under the mattress.
The US cannot contemplate of a peace without the threat of violence.
1
All of this tends to show that Iran needs a deterrent, a nuclear deterrent against nuclear threat.
That is the wrong way to handle things. If we force them into that corner, then they'll be in that corner. That isn't good for us.
It might serve others, who seek the hostility for their own ulterior motives. It does not serve us, nor good sense. What is good for MbS and Netanyahu is not automatically good for us or the larger world.
6
All these efforts to curb Iran military only result in provoking the Iranians to acquire more and more rockets and attack speedboats, etc.
1
But who is supplying Iran the critical uranium enrichment hardware, like the specialized centrifuges? Whoever that company is, they would be a worthy target for punitive tariffs by the developed world.
I only hope the Pentagon is paying as much attention to our supply chains.
Get rid of Trump now, before he gets us all turned into dust.
The man isn't right. He has to go.
3
US "secret programs" against Iranians such as the one covered here - as well as Israel's clandestine projects that included killing of Iranian nuclear scientists - are activities that when other countries undertake them, we call them terrorist regimes. So, it is no wonder that the US appears to Iranians as the bully that is telling them "Do what I say, don't do what I do!"
3
For several months now I have been ruminating as to who in the GOP thinks they are in position to replace tRump as candidate and subsequent POTUS, after the looming fall from grace. With his time as Benghazi Inquisitor, DCI and now Secy of State, this leak of what would normally be seen as information that an administration would not publicize, can only be construed as the opening salvo of M. Pompeo’s announcement of candidacy. Let us see if Sen Burr launches an investigation into the source of the leak....
Don’t hold your breath.
A Shahab-3 missile at a military parade in 2000 in Tehran. The missile can hurl warheads about 800 miles.
What cracks me up about that picture is that regardless of our technological prowess, the trucks that haul them still have to carry spare tires. Think about that. Lots of eggs, all in the wrong basket.
If Iran were to carry out a similar program against the US missile programs, would that be an act of war?
3
This is why Iran has no reason to mistrust and be adversarial toward the US, we would never interfere with their internal affairs ....
4
With all due respect for people expressing concern about the NY Times disclosing "secret" information: Yes, the Times is a valuable source of information for people world-wide, but nation-states like Iran and North Korea have other means of acquiring intelligence.
Their intelligence communities, like ours, monitor events and make judgments regarding the intentions and capabilities of adversaries.
The US government's position on Iranian and North Korean missile programs is hardly opaque, abundant open-source material is available about US capabilities, and intelligence professionals have a variety of ways to obtain information, in addition to their Times subscriptions.
If only this wasn't necessary. Imagine, if you can, a scenario in which Iran agreed to cease trying to develop nuclear technology in return for an easing of sanctions against the country. But that would never work, right?
I doubt that the US missile defense, as presented here, is the only system we have. As warheads fall into the atmosphere, they slow down and the diversionary material, which is light, burns up. What's left is like a high altitude aircraft, but hot and bright, and slower than at mid trajectory. It can be shot down with flak, anti aircraft guns, missiles, or space mines.
The failed intercepts could be a smoke screen designed to hide our actual capabilities, which might be cheap, simple, and easily hidden. With hundreds of potential defenses, an adversary cant design for all of them. An ICBM is a hugely expensive one shot device.
7
I'm a liberal, and generally believe in transparency in government, but I don;t think release of this was in our best interests. I had assumed that just as we are facing cyber threats from man corners of the globe, of course the US was investing in its own such programs.
What is frightening me is that Trump, with Pompeo and Bolton, may ratchet up the competition, for nuclear weapons and on the cyber wars front. With the pressures that global warming is bringing -- uncertain food production, floods and extremes of heat -- the fundamental causes of war are building. These guys - don't have enough dread of catastrophe to motivate them to treasure peace.
22
A great report with excellent graphics.
I am no rocket engineer but worked in the oil patch over 43 years in operations and hold a couple of patents.
Even in our industry - some parts are so critical that you can have a catastrophic failure by just a few thousands of inches.
Even in Macondo incident. A routine pieces of equipment - so called "stabilizers" that hold one piece of casing inside another to provide sufficient annular space for cement.
Post disaster investigation showed that the crew had not provided sufficient number of these because they were of wrong size to begin with - a difference of less than 1/8th of an inch.
I suspect that in a rocket failure - even a paint job or lack there of could lead to a failure.
I have a great admiration for our Sectretary of State - this report solidifies it further.
6
Appears the Iranian effort to turn a U.S. counterintelligence operative and extract knowledge of U.S. activities in Iran comes under the heading of "Justified Self-Defense".
6
I guess that the program is now no longer a secret. Any leaks from China, Iran, or Russia about what they are doing? If not, why not?
10
@Richard Winchester Apparently not that secret if an Iranian Brigadier General was talking about it on public television 3 years ago.
1
Would that be considered an act of war?
4
If it turns out that Iran has been retaliating against us, by sabotaging the F-35 for example, it will be amusing to watch the cries of outraged indignation.
9
Yes, very amusing if you think the failure of our national security and a win for our enemies is funny.
They don’t need to sabotage the F-35, the defense industry in the US is already doing it. Of course they can fix it for a few billion more dollars though.
1
Fellow Commentors: I understand the concern about the publication of this "secret" information. Blame the leakers, not the journalists. In a world where "official leaks" are a common tactic, it is not their responsibility to determine which is which. By the way, this has all the hallmarks of an official leak.
7
>>> "Blame the leakers . . ."
In this case, that would appear to be "current and former administration officials," according to the article.
Definitely looks like an official leak.
2
@Sumac And official leaks from this White House are released for what reason to claim credit for failures they the US may well had nothing to do with? Will the US take credit for all pst failures in North Korea's rocket failures and blame old Soviet Union for US rocket failures over past 50 years? Me, I stopped eating red herrings in 1956.
1
These are acts of war, added to the numerous violations of the UN Charter by the US.
6
No matter what the U.S. does, China and Russia are the Iranian safety net. Trump is foolishly wasting his time by playing tit-for-tat. He already blew it by making good on his promise to walk away from the "bad deal" that the Obama administration and the rest of the world signed onto. U.S. military officials and generals, including Mattis said the Iranians were in compliance and it was a good way to keep eyes on the Iranian nukes.
18
“The only system protecting the us”, you really guys thinks for sure that someone, and I mean a nation, could attack your country (with all that that achieve of it) ?
But before this question you should ask yourself why you still support ( just living in it) a state that has so many enemy.
If you respect and have consideration of a person he will never attack you, that’s your main problem.
4
I would certainly hope so.
1
The use of the word "secret" seems a bit off.
5
@glennmr didn’t one of our current military geniuses vow to never telegraph our security plans to the enemy?
1
@glennmr Well, apart from being discussed on public television in Iran and reported in one of the world's most widely read newspapers, it has been absolutely top secret.
The White House thinks it can simply say, “there’s going to be a summit on X date. Everyone attend” and that the entire international community will obediently attend.
The US wants to villainize Iran and goes to great pains to create forums where they can attempt to whip-up international crowd anger towards a nation for the purpose of establishing a footing on which to militarily attack Iran. Meanwhile Iran is still abiding by the Agreement.
Cohen says he “explicitly told the U.N. Security Council it is not “a venue to demonize or attack Iran.”
But Pompeo says “…this is going to be a serious concrete discussion about a broad range of topics that range from counterterrorism to the malign influence that Iran has played in the Middle East towards its instability.”
Cohen should stay closer to his boss. Pompeo and Bolton are trump’s warmongers. Nothing more.
The UN should take these 'pop-up summits' and use the forums to publicly denounce the US as the hegemonic war monger it is and shame the US for its abrogating from the Iran Nuclear Agreement.
12
Maybe takes the hubris off of Iran’s 40th anniversary of their theocratic revolution. Maybe counter our lady agent that just defected. Maybe the Russians or other nefarious contractors can help with their supply train problems. So many juicy “maybes”.
Some readers seem to be upset or worry about the fact that NY Times reveals a "secret" program. May be the NY Times shoots itself in the foot when they put "secret" in the headline. Number one a look at "Wikipedia-CIA activities in Iran", will teach any readers about the secret programs of the CIA against Iran. There is no secret that USA had and has targeting the missile and nuclear development programs for years. The Iranians already knew it. Especially when 67% of your missile launches failed, you can not explained that by incompetency alone.
And this not the first time that a "secret" from or against Iran is revealed. Remember the pony show of Benjamin Netanyahu on 26 September 2018 about a nuclear secret program which was already acknowledged by the Iranian Government in 2003. An MOSAD will have saved time and money by just buying "The Iran Threat", published in 2008 by the Iranian author Alireza Jafarzaden in which book the "secret" program is described.
4
@Wilbray Thiffault
The Iranian government clamied the book "The Iran Threat" was a fraud. The MOSAD raid proved that the Iranians never stopped working on nuclear weapons. There is a difference.
I guess it’s not secret any longer.
2
The New York Times is not to be blamed for publishing leaked sensitive material. The blame is with the so called unauthorized Source. For if the Times did not publish, then somebody else would have.
The blame, if warranted, lies somewhere else.
A part of Bolton’s know-nothingness, no doubt.
2
I guess no one in Iran reads The Times so Iran will never know about our programs to sabotage their weapons.
Smart!
5
On a weekly basis one reads articles about cyber threats and possible cyber attacks from other nations against the United States. And we don't like other nations targeting our critical infrastructure or anything remotely important. Then, why would the New York Times post an article like this, stating that we do the same?
Yes, we might be aware that the United States has the capability to counter attacks and also go on the offense, but do we need to have it in print from what is looked upon as a respectable newspaper?
Even though details might not have been given in the article, just stating that the United States "has accelerated a secret American program to sabotage Iran's …" is more than what should be in print.
We might be looked upon as the good guy against many bad adversaries, but what this article is doing is legitimizing attacks against the United States. At least within the population of certain countries.
New York Times, this is not good!
Gaute - American living abroad.
5
@Gaute Michel Ferstad:
"we might be looked upon as the good
guy against many bad adversaries ..."
really? imho those days are long gone.
the stress, here, is on MIGHT.
as in 'military might' + the 'almighty dollar'.
as to outsiders wanting to attack the US:
they keep giving them so many reasons to be mad.
look at all those US-backed regime changes,
or interference in foreign elections, for instance.
[venezuela just the most recent example.]
as to iran in particular: what happened in 1953?
1
With all these embargo's, I seriously wonder where they get that much gold satin.
Trump doesn't want Iran to have nuclear but it's ok to sell nuclear to Saudi Arabia since they are Jared's BFF and there is money to be handed out for the taking.
6
Obviously, incapacitaing a hostile nation's potential to strike against the US or its allies is good. I am not so sure about the wisdom of walking away from the nuclear deal the Obama administraion had struck with the support of European allies.
I am sure, however, that single-mindedly going after Iran whilst leaving Saudi Arabia unchecked is not very smart. At the end of the day, this boils down to a religious conflict between Shia and Sunnis which eventually they will have to sort out between themselves.
Any heavy-handed and one-sided involvement of the US will incite further hatred of the side that feels treated unfairly. To me, an equi-distant or, perhaps, equi-close relationship to Iran and to Saudi Arabia seems more meaningful strategically and more promising in fundamentally resolving this conflict.
54
@W And leaving Israel, whom we KNOW has nuclear weaponry and the delivery systems, yet has refused to admit the fact, even though the entire world knows they stole the Bomb from the USA, stole Materials from the USA, and absolutely refuses to sign the Anti-Nuclear Proliferation Pact, which Iran did early on.
Frankly I am a LOT more worried about Israel and it's recently admitted illegal warmongering by bombing shipments, facilities and infrastructure in the surrounding Nations, let alone the ongoing war-crimes that Israel perpetuates upon Gaza so as to goad the Gazans to 'Some Action', which gives the Israeli's "The Excuse" to go in with extremely modern heavy equipment, artillery and precision guided, jet delivered bombs so as to keep the Entire Gaza Strip in a continual sense of terror and neglect.
And yet Israel and it's Jews say "Never Again", yet they only look as far as each other, and oh-so-conveniently exclude the Palestinians as 'people' entirely.
If they TRULY Believed Never Again, then they would be ashamed of their present aggressions against all around them, most of the angst against Israel has been well earned. Not by Jews, per se, but the Hyper Nationalists who control the Arms Plants and continue to make huge profits from all conflicts there.
Israel is, and has been, a greater danger to the area than any other Nation. Iran is just trying to give it's allies the means to Protect Themselves just like Israel demands for itself, it denies for all around them!
38
You fail to mention how Arab countries invaded Israel immediately upon its founding and have unleashed terror on it ever since.
7
Absolutely, and that’s not anti semitism, that’s a factual observation of the paranoid and right wing Likud party that oppresses human beings and Orthodox religious fanatics who are no better than the Islamic militants.
8
Folks, this program may be news to us, but not to Iran. In any case, the CIA did not name its suppliers. There are countless contractors and subcontractors involved in weapons production.
And don't think that other countries aren't doing the same to the U.S.
30
@Good Things
Thanks for the reassurance. My first thought was, "Well, it's not secret anymore."
1
Reading these comments it is clear that many uninformed Americans have bought into the thousands of lies of the hawkish Trump government, who despite all information to the contrary wants to prove wrongly that Iran has broken the nuclear accord.
Many countries involved in the original Iran deal have proved that there is no sign of any developments of nuclear weapons.
It is the arrogance and ignorance of Trump amd his war hawks as well as Israeli propaganda by especially AIPAC that wants Americans to believe that Iran has broken the agreement.
Of course the only country that has broken the agreement is the USA and Russia who wants to develop high powered mini nuclear weapons which are more difficulty to detect and can easily be moved around unseen.
It is America (Trump) and Russia (Putin) who have started a new cold war with the breaking of a well functioning nuclear agreement.
The rockets that were destroyed by the input of false parts and destructive software was made in Israel and the USA, these rockets, easily recognizable from space, were satelite delivery rockets. Similar as the many hundreds the free world has send into space for many decades. None of them were stopped or destroyed.
20
Even if this article is not a part of the deliberate misinformation, there is no need for alarm because Iran already knows about the constant attempted sabotage by the US, Israel, Saudi Arabia, UAE, and of course, the terrorist group, MEK/MKO/NCRI, the murderers of top American military and civilian officials,, kidnappers and hostage takers of American diplomats in Iran. In this context, despite the terrorist group's confirmed cold-blooded murders, kidnapping, and hostage taking of Americans, top American officials and lawmakers like Pence, Pompeo, Bolton, Giuliani, Gingrich, McConnell, Bill Richardson, Howard Dean, Ed Rendell, Patrick Kennedy, et al., support them. Not only that, Bolton, Giuliani, Gingrich, Bill Richardson, Howard Dean, Ed Rendell, Patrick Kennedy, and many others are paid by the terrorist group to speak on their behalf.
Isn't it ironic that the administration, and the US lawmakers always talk about punishing those who murder American military and civilian officials and those who kidnap American diplomats or hold them as hostages, and yet they bow to this terrorist group who have committed heinous crimes against Americans? Why are they not being tried? Is it because they think that members of this terrorist group will be their puppets if the US overthrows the present government? Don't they know that an overwhelming majority of Iranians worldwide despise them and consider them as traitors who fought alongside Saddam in the Iraq war against Iran?
6
I don't understand all these comments criticizing NYT for outing a "secret" program. This program is anything but secret. Everybody in intelligence knew about it. Jason Matthews described it in detail years ago in his novel "Palace of Treason".
16
@Sinbad. A novel? Seriously? You think everything published as fiction happens in real life? And no, not "everyone" in intelligence knew about it; these things are always "need to know".
It's likely that the NYT did not out any programme; if the intel community asks them not to print about an on-going op, news organisations usually honour the request, so the op was probably already blown.
@Danny The program to disrupt the Iranian centrifuges was widely reported in the western press over a long period of time.
And the novel was written by a CIA agent.
I’m not surprised at the naïveté of the comments castigating the Times for publishing this story. But these readers need to understand that the unnamed individuals who supplied this information to the Times were authorized to do so. There is never a leak of these kinds of covert programs without approval at the highest levels of the intelligence community. When are readers going to understand that what news organizations are told about compartmentalized intelligence programs is part of an elaborate mosaic of information, disinformation, manipulation and adroit maneuvering to achieve a desired end we will never be fully acquainted with until many, many years later?
19
Well I guess it isn't a secret any more. What a ridiculous article to print. The intelligence services definitely need to determine the source of the information.
5
@RonEsq
You're on board with the intelligence services and the work they do then?
Excellent!
I'm not sure we needed to know this. It's an interesting story but I would like to know what efforts, if any, the NYT undertook to make sure that the story isn't jeopardizing this program. Or, if you think the program needs to stop, why aren't you saying so? There's a difference between Iran suspecting American interference and having it confirmed by the Times.
8
@Sandy
"Government officials asked The Times to withhold some details of its reporting, mostly involving the identities of specific suppliers to the Iranian program, because the effort is continuing."
So clearly, they ran this story past the government and had it approved.
1
@Sandy
' There's a difference between Iran suspecting American interference and having it confirmed by the Times.'
If the Iranians are relying on 'information' from The Times, or any other media for information, then god --- whomsoever you may perceive her to be -- help them!
@Anonymous I don't think that means it was approved, necessarily, perhaps that was the government trying to mitigate the damage that would be caused by this article. I think you are assuming facts not in evidence in this story.
And WHY are we reporting this, exactly? Seems not in the best interest of the public, doncha think?
3
@SD
Perhaps we are making this information available because it is fake information about fake parts the
sale and purchase of which is also fake.
2
This liberal Democrat is happy with our government's efforts to curb Iran's nuclear ambitions. However I do hope this NYT disclosure is a systhesis of public knowledge and not a verification of Iran's suspicions which would be careless at best.
7
The so-called "islamic republic of" Iran clearly is an illegitimate state. It is ruled by unelected, illegitimate, Twelver, religious-fanatic dictators who took over the country by force, (from a prior dictator whom we, ill-advisedly supported), and who run around in little 7th century costumes and headgear doing what they do to encourage, in their own minds, the coming out of a savior, a twelfth imam called Al Mahdi. They believe that Al will show up with Jesus to redeem the world.
Imagine that the Mafia took over Italy by force. Would anyone recognize the Mafia as Italy's legitimate government? Same thing with Iran. Iran's dictators should be shunned by the international community and their UN membership should degraded to observer status, if that.
We need to do all we can, without our resorting to arms, to encourage the people of Iran to throw out those dictators who subjugate them.
12
Interesting that this "good news" gets a headline saying "US Revives..." Why didn't it say "TRUMP revives..."?? You can be sure if this program wasn't working the headline in the NYTs would have been "TRUMP'S program fails..." not "US program fails...".
6
Great job NYT, while Iran may have suspected/known about this all you do is confirm a story that creates even more ill will toward the US. Stick with AOC fantasy programs and Pelosi/Schumer quotes - at least those are ignored by non US residents
4
I just do not this utter hatred of Iran!! What am I missing. Every time I look up something is being done against them. I know most of trump's hatred is the Iran accord. Anything Obama did was to be undone and hated. No reason just because he did it. Iran had a duly elected government until USA tore it down to install the Shahs. Then, when the Irani people tired of their brutality, they fought back in 1979. The hostages. There has been nothing but vilification since. Even the lie about the returned funds is still bandied about. I am so sick of this. Suck up to Putin. Lies about deals with NK. If not bothering you, leave them alone.
7
@Joane Johnson - Some information for you: After the fall of the Shah in 1979, the Islamic Republic of Iran established the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to domestically promote the government's social policy. IRGC is accused of spreading its ideology in neighboring regions by training and funding "terrorist organizations". By 1986, IRGC had 350,000 members and had acquired a small naval and air force. By 1996, its ground forces numbered 100,000 and the naval forces numbered 20,000. They are believed to use the Quds Force to train Islamic militants.[4]
In 1995, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard held a conference with worldwide organizations accused of engaging in terrorism including the Japanese Red Army, the Armenian Secret Army, the Kurdistan Workers' Party, the Iraqi Da'wah Party, the Islamic Front for the Liberation of Bahrain and Hezbollah in Beirut for the sole purpose of providing training to these organizations supposedly to help in the destabilization of Gulf States and aid assistance to militants in these countries to replace the existing governments with Iran-like regimes.[5]
The United States State Department states that IRGC provides support for Hamas, Hezbollah and Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Israel.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran_and_state-sponsored_terrorism
I am also mystified by the casting of Iran as a super villain while much more reprehensible regimes like the Saudi’s get a pass. Iran’s women have basic rights and can vote, hold public office, and work in many fields. They country also has a modicum of democracy and a wonderfully rich culture and history. They are dangerous, yes, and their religious leaders are genuinely fanatical and frightening. But the people themselves and their mostly democratically elected representatives seem much more like natural allies than the Saudis. As long as the “death to Israel” religious leaders hold ultimate power Iran can never be an ally politically but the country as a whole should not be demonized either.
1
@Dave
'The United States State Department states that IRGC provides support for Hamas, Hezbollah and Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Israel.'
If that is so, it certainly put them on the side of the angels!
Fake news, we have missles aimed at them, they have them aimed at us. Old news.
Have a great day.
1
Anyone who thought this was news to Iran is a baker's dozen kinds of naive. Expect in the near future to hear of arrests, trial and executions (not necessarily in that order) related to Iran's missile program, and this news item may be reasonably held to blame for precipitating those acts.
I just hope the jets we have sold to Saudi Arabia and other not-so-nice, despot-led nations are also infected with remote disablement or destruction capabilities. "Gun" control is much more than just keeping AR-15s and AK-47s from the hands of idiots and psychopaths. It must be implemented at the nation-state level as well.
4
Sent to a specific response earlier: Maybe this is true, maybe not. Maybe it's true and shouldn't have been released. Maybe it's true and was released to send a warning. Maybe it was released to send a message to a selected U.S. constituency. Maybe it was released as a negotiations gambit. Maybe it isn't true and it's just disinformation. In any case, I suspect in many secret locations across Iran, a legion of technicians and maintenance folks are scrambling over missiles, stock shelves, and shipping containers with magnifying glasses looking for imperfections and running tests on circuits. Meanwhile, deep in the bowels of the Iranian Guard the intel network is looking at logistics chains trying to identify culprits, spies and traitors. Maybe for all of them it is an exercise in fruitless and exhausted frustration. Where is the Mad Magazine Spy vs Spy series now that we need them?
5
This article highlights why a military supply chain must be defended against sabotage. It also highlights one of the great vulnerabilities within the U.S. semiconductor industry.
According to the article: "The officials described a far-reaching effort, created under President George W. Bush, to slip faulty parts and materials into Iran’s aerospace supply chains."
The great vulnerability of U.S. semiconductor supply chains is they are protected through obfuscation-security. That is to say, the microcircuits are hidden from view behind a secrecy cloak. U.S. companies have stubbornly resisted modern transparency technologies that allow the functions of the microcircuit to be inspected and verified.
Opponents of microcircuit transparency usually cite protection of their trade secrecy rights. Proponents of microcircuit transparency often cite something called 'The Defense Export Hypothesis'. Under The Defense Export Hypothesis, a U.S. prime military contractor cannot receive an export licence from the U.S. Government, unless there are back doors (under their control) in their microcircuits. It is an unwritten rule, but by all accounts is a firm rule nonetheless.
1
Why would you publish this story about a classified program? How is the newsworthiness of this story greater than the national security risk?
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@El Gato
If the story is factual, then It usually means that it's already been found-out (or leaked).
2
“But when Mr. Trump spoke at the Pentagon last month, he said nothing about Russia, China or North Korea as missile threats. He spoke only of Iran.”
The United States’ nuclear arsenal is an exponentially greater threat to the future of humanity than the combined arsenals of every other nuclear-armed nation across the world.
“Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.”
6
The New York Times ought to explain the logic behind it's decision to publish details of what appears to be a largely effective and ethical classified government program. Frankly, I don't see what this article achieves beyond confirming Iran's suspicions of the existence of such a program.
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@Jack Excellent question. THis isn't some controversial program that us citizens have been trying to get to the bottom of.
In addition, why were 'insiders' willing to confirm to the NYTs the existence of this program.. again. nothing of value accrues to regular citizens and their relationship to the GVT by anyone confirming this, it's not the pentagon papers. Any insider who confirmed this is doing so just to play a "big shot" to a NYTs reporter.
NYTs should be ashamed of this article, it adds nothing of value. THey are simply reporting it because they can.
2
@Jack Because jack - as in poker - it doesn't have to be true, your opponent just needs to think its true.
Shame on you for publishing this story. This only endangers our country and weakens our efforts to combat the autocrats of the world who would destroy our way of life if they could. Some stories should be held - this is one of them. Thank you.
18
Reading about this type of sabotage and intrigue is frightening enough (it can happen to us too) under pre-Trump era presidents. But to think that such covert activities are now under the control of Trump and his capos makes me especially queezy.
5
Jeez. Get real, people. You don't think the Iranians don't know this already? Eleven years? Come on. Even Trump would have figured it out after 9 or 10 years.
36
Not only have we lost most of our "greatest generation" of military veterans and civilians, but we've apparently lost the greatest generation of reporters and editors who had common sense. I don't doubt our enemies have some idea (and more) of what we do to keep ourselves safe. But articles like this are not helpful. You can declare how a free press is necessary for democracy to work and go on about the public's right to know, but this story is unpatriotic.
11
Unless the Iranians already knew all this, why print it? Would you expose a U.S. effort to protect journalists from vengeful governments? I though the motto was all the news fit to print, not all the news, whatever.
9
It's becoming All the News That Fits. Thanks National Lampoon, or Mad Magazine.
2
Secret? Not anymore. The NYT is irresponsible to publish this story. It may be news, but it’s not going to help me make better civic decisions and it hurts America. Bad decision NYT.
10
Not so secret now.
28
Isn't this how Doc Brown got into trouble in Back to the Future?
4
"Mr. Pompeo is in Warsaw this week with Vice President Mike Pence to lead a meeting of 65 nations on encouraging stability in the Middle East..." How does unconditionally backing Prince MBS fit into encouraging stability? He has pushed for an embargo on Qatar, an important US ally in the region, he has pushed for a war in Yemen (which the Trump Whit House supports), he is jailing and murdering anyone who voices any opposition (despotic tyranny never leads to stability), and has tolerated Wahhabi Islam which supported Al Quaeda and continues to preach anti-western intolerance.
11
I don’t understand why the NYTs felt compelled to write and publish this article. Yeah I’m relieved to know the CIA is not standing still against the threat posed by Iran. I just question the value of making this public.
59
Well now our suspicions are in fact true! Muahahaha, all we had to do was read the New York Times! America will truly be the source of their own demise!
13
Why is this information being made public? It seems subversive to be coming from an American source.
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@TKGPA, maybe, maybe not. Maybe it's true and shouldn't have been released. Maybe it's true and was released to send a warning. Maybe it was released to send a message to a selected U.S. constituency. Maybe it was released as a negotiations gambit. Maybe it isn't true and it's just disinformation. In any case, I suspect in many secret locations across Iran, a legion of technicians and maintenance folks are scrambling over missiles, stock shelves, and shipping containers with magnifying glasses looking for imperfections and running tests on circuits. Meanwhile, deep in the bowels of the Iranian Guard the intel network is looking at logistics chains trying to identify culprits, spies and traitors. Maybe for all of them it is an exercise in fruitless and exhausted frustration. Where is the Mad Magazine Spy vs Spy series now that we need them?
7
Did you really need to write a story about a secret program that seemed to be working?
46
@dave It's all theatre. Politics to make sure military funding isn't decreased after troop pull-outs.
One must surmise that any "secret" program won't remain secret for long if the aim of that program is to accomplish ends which make The Donald look good. The "I just did the greatest thing" urge is just too strong for him to shut up...so the secret is out...Iran will inspect parts more closely, perhaps....having been totally duped in the past, of course....
7
The US sabotaged Iran with Stuxnet, aided Israel in assassinating Iranian nuclear scientists, withdrew from the JCPOA even though Iran is adhering to its part of the bargain, and now this. Then politicians in America get their undies in a bundle when Iran denounces the US in political rallies. Iran has never physically attacked the United States, but they have plenty of reason to be angry.
22
@William O, Beeman you seem to forget the kidnapping and torture of dozens of U S embassy personnel, the hundreds of Americans killed in Iraq by Iranian bombs and the hundreds of Americans killed in Lebanon by Iran’s proxy Hezbollah.
7
@William O, Beeman Which side are you on, Mr. Beeman?
4
@DSM14
American soldiers in Lebanon and Iraq are there to advance our strategic interests. They were not there on vacation. You cant hold it against Iran to send their soldiers to countries literally on their border and in their backyard to advance their interests when we are doing the exact same things.
2
Breaking News: Trump takes credit for inventing missiles and rockets!
10
And 4th of July celebrations!
Your headline became inaccurate the moment you published. Not only has the formerly-secret program been revived, but there are surely renewed efforts in Tehran today to make the secret saboteurs formerly-secret as well.
13
The Big White Elephant that is not in the room is the role Israel has played in the “sabotage” program...
The Stuxnet computer virus which played havoc with Iran’s nuclear program was jointly developed by Israel and the US .
Israel is one of the only countries that can get into Iran, and as has recently been shown is able to get Documents and People out of Iran...
One can only speculate but... stay tuned... for further developments...
11
Well, New York Times, it certainly isn't "secret" any more.
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@Brown Dog Yup, that's right. Now to develop another secret!
2
I guess the "secret" program is not so secret anymore. Thanks for sharing NYT.
15
@Barry Fisher, I had the same question, but apparently unlike you, I actually read the article and understand why it was published: the Iranians already know about it. In this case, their missile arsenal is potentially riddled with defective parts, but there is no way to know where to begin looking for them. That's a conundrum for the Iranians.
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@David Mayes
it seems that 95% of all other comments think the publication of this story is either a minor mistake or absolutely traiterous. It is funny that your comment, which thinks publication is a good idea, is the only comment that the times pick as a "Pick". I cannot see any positive in the publication of this story at all.
if you are right that Iran is now confused, good. That is the only good thing about the article. I am pretty sure the NYT will not make a "Times Pick" of my comment
1
Why would you run a story that outs what appears to be a modestly successful clandestine effort to make Iran's missiles less effective. I know you don't like the Trump administration, neither do I. But that does not mean everything they do is bad and not in our country's interest. The media, and I include right, left and center, lives on the principal that nothing should be secret. Occasionally, and this is one instance, you go too far.
71
Kudos to the NYT for outstanding journalism, jeopardizing national security to entertain readers. I'm only surprised they didn't bash our own government for deceiving the poor, vulnerable Iranian military.
17
“They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to reveal covert information”?
If true, someone should be criminally charged for leaking this.
Query whether the NYT should as well, knowing it was covert information from someone not authorized to provide it.
It’s one thing to leak chaos in the Trump White House; quite another to put people and highly secret information regarding covert operations at risk.
21
What journalistic ethics considerations justified publishing this story?
Surely you don't publish information on every secret US covert operation you learn about? What's the calculation for releasing information like this?
23
@flossdaily Thank you for your comment. We hear your concern. I've forwarded your note to the editors on this piece. We've published similar articles in the past and explained the months-long process that often goes into them: https://nyti.ms/2lUsxHd. We do not take lightly the publication of secret information, especially in national security cases. But this type of journalism is essential for Americans to have an informed public discussion about how to deal with threats to the nation. Thank you again for reading.
6
@Aidan Gardiner We would love to see a more detailed response. Why do we need an "informed public discussion" about a clandestine program that seems to be both peaceable in nature and very effective?
1
Sooooo, a sceret program that we are telling everyone about. Kind of defeats the whole "secret" thing no?
9
Why do "secret" military strategies get reported on?
11
Much as I appreciate the NYTimes intrepid journalism I cant fathom why oh why do we tell countries of our secret programs to mitigate their missile programs etc. not sure we are making the world better or safer with this article.
101
Shhhh, don't tell anybody!
20
I assume the CIA et al must know a lot about Iran’s missiles since we are sending the parts that pass inspection, but wreck the missile.
8
I can’t wrap my head around the need to report on something like this. Are there human rights concerns? Dark money funding? I know we have freedom of the press and it is one of the greatest assets we have as a nation but I’m still sitting here scratching my head.
31
While this is excellent reporting, I would like to see a discussion as to whether the Times should print this. Journalism ethics.
44
Freedom of the press is sacrosanct. But why report on covert activities which, when compromised, threaten American lives and the Democracy that makes freedom of the press possible? Sincere question.
35
@Vanbriggle Well stated!
What purpose does disclosing this information achieve?
Clearly Iran is an adversary and we should be undertaking programs like this.
23
I am no fan of Trump, but shouldn’t we keep some of this info secret? You are clearly getting unauthorized leaks and seems broadly damaging for our country
25
I wonder what the rules are for divulging state secrets. If this story is correct, the NYT is sabotaging the US government in activities that, it seems, predate the current Trump administration. Whatever one's view of the Iran deal, nobody in their right mind would view Iran as an ally of the US, under *any* administration.
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@MaxiMin
They did offer to help us oust the Taliban in Afghanistan and capture Osama. Good thing we turned their help down since we've done such a great job on our own.
3
Nice to know parts of the derided “deep state” are still operational. Certainly is a scoop for NYT, though it won’t be much news to Iran. A bit suspicious of this release of “good news” at the same time another traitorous American counter-intelligence officer has been exposed as a double, having been turned by Iran and now enjoying kebabs and pomegranates in Teheran.
9
It’s not secret anymore now is it? This isn’t a game or a joke, it’s national security! Not everything needs to be published!
121
Thanks Sebastian. That was my first reaction in reading this article. I understand that the CIA does a lot of stuff to protect us that we don’t know about. And we don’t need to know about it. It seems the biggest beneficiary of an article like this is Iran, certainly not Americans.
13
@Sebastian Franklin
Agree. The leakers need to be found and prosecuted to the FULLEST extent of the law, irrespective of their positions.
1
If you read the article, you’d have seen that Iranians are quite aware something is amiss. In fact, even under the Obama administration, the Iranians knew that the US was infiltrating it’s software. The article also continues to state that on the request of government officials, some sensitive details were omitted from the article.
Finally, the public deserves to know what threats are posed to the country and what our country is doing in response; of course responsible news outlets will always remove sensitive information before publishing.
Did the next step will be BUILD A WALL around Iran? After all President Trump love so much walls that he even closed his own government to get one.
3
Pulling out of treaty with Iran bolstered the Iranian hard liners and weakened the moderate political forces of Iran. The people of Iran do not hate Americans and want economic development not constant war. The middle east needs economic development weaning off the dependence of oil for their economies and the growing populations in Saudi Arabia and Iran. The religious divisions between Iran and Saudi could be worked out as they were between Catholics and Protestants were centuries ago for the benefit of both populations. War is a horror for the civilian populations while it may be a boon for defense industries and war hawks who seem to avoid the pains of war in these conflicts but profit in power and money.
3
Sounds almost too good, too righteous, even too "progressive," to be true.
Hurting no one, causing no interruption in civil life, and preventing only that which must be prevented: The ayatollahs' desire to destroy and kill.
Even the rabid Left could not find a downside in this.
If this and similar undertakings were actually taking place, even a tax increase would not taste quite as bitter.
4
There's something I don't have a problem with. Payback time is long overdue.
3
@sharon5101
"Payback time?" This isnt the mafia. This is international relations. If our motivation to oppose Iran is due to some need for vengeance then that makes us the bad guys.
1
Anything to further destabilize a regime of state sponsored terrorism and egregious human rights abuses sounds okay to me.
7
This 'classified' program seems to be a critical part of our efforts to stymie Iran's missile programs. Why is this program being openly discussed? It seems that either trump wants the program to be known or it had already been disclosed - in either case disclosure clearly undermines a potentially important initiative.
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@Dick English I agree with your concern. Sadly, Trump undermines all programs he touches, classified or unclassified. It's what he does as a result of his huge ego or a laziness to read and digest important information.
1
@Dick English
I wonder how this 'classified' program can be so 'secret' when it is reported in the NYT. Does the administration think that no Iranian reads English and/or the Times?
2