Cyber Command disrupted Iranian comms, sensors, top general says

U.S. Cyber Command conducted online attacks against Iranian communications that the country’s top general said set the stage for America’s historic joint bombing campaign with Israel.

Along with U.S. Space Command, it was among the “first movers” that began “layering non-kinetic effects” to support the mission, dubbed Operation Epic Fury, that killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several other senior Iranian officials this weekend, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Dan Caine said at a Pentagon press conference on Monday.

“Coordinated space and cyber operations effectively disrupted communications and sensor networks across the area of responsibility, leaving the adversary without the ability to see, coordinate or respond effectively,” Caine said.

Together, the efforts helped to “disrupt, disorient and confuse the enemy,” he added.

Caine’s comments mark the most public acknowledgement to date of Cyber Command’s role in the major military operations that have come to define the second Trump administration.

Recorded Future News  first reported that the command last year disrupted Iranian missile defense systems to support a successful bombing operation against key nuclear sites in the country. 

Caine and President Donald Trump earlier this year hinted at Cyber Command’s efforts to knock out power to Venezuela's capital and to disrupt air defense radar and handheld radios as part of the mission to capture President Nicolás Maduro.

There have been a handful of apparent cyber operations since the joint U.S.-Israeli attacks on targets across Iran began on Saturday, including the hacking of multiple news websites and a religious calendar app, reportedly by Israeli digital forces, with messages urging defections and resistance to the government regime. 

Officials in both Washington and Jerusalem are girding for potential retaliatory cyberattacks by Iranian proxy groups or Tehran’s allies. In the past, Iran has conducted a range of malicious activities, from ransomware strikes to denial-of-service attacks. 

On Monday, Jordan said its National Cybersecurity Center had thwarted an Iranian cyberattack on the country’s wheat storage systems.