Iran spokesman claims computer worm was covert Western plot to derail country’s nuke program

Iran insists computer worm was Western plot

TEHRAN, Iran — Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman is claiming that a computer worm found on the laptops of several employees at the country’s nuclear power plant is part of a covert Western plot to derail the Iranian atomic program.

Ramin Mehmanparast says it won’t make Iran “give up or stop” its nuclear activities, which the U.S. and its allies fear are geared toward making atomic weapons. Iran denies those charges.

Mehmanparast’s remarks on Tuesday were the strongest yet on Tehran’s suspicions over the worm.

The malicious computer code, designed to take over industrial sites such as the Bushehr nuclear power plant, has also emerged in India, Indonesia and the U.S.

Iran said the Stuxnet worm infected personal computers of Bushehr employees but not the plant’s main systems.