December 2, 2008: Iran revealed that an
Israeli spy they recently executed had allowed Israeli technicians to install
special electronic equipment in computer equipment the spy bought for the
Iranian government. The deceased spy, Ali Ashtari, procured legal, and illegal
(barred by one of the many export sanctions directed at Iran) computer
equipment for the Iranian government. But the Israelis paid more, and that
enabled the Israelis to, in effect, install special components that enabled them
to monitor what the Iranians were doing with some of the equipment that Ashtari obtained. Apparently, Ashtari did not
know all the details of just what the Israelis installed in the imported
computers and other electronic equipment. The Israeli "additions"
apparently enabled Iranian weapons and technology developments to be monitored.
The Iranians did not comment on what they are doing to get rid of all the
Israeli modified gear they are using.
