Has Israel already attacked Iran?

A nuclear Iran is unthinkable. Yet, we have been thinking it ever since it became obvious that Iran was nearing the tipping point. Their technological capability to enrich uranium, to enrich it again at double speed, to buy and trade uranium from Russia, and their promises to wipe Israel from the map made this nightmare scenario all too real. Nukes in the hands of a crazy puppet (or IS he???) who is directed by crazier Ayatollahs with no hesitation to obliterate Israel means only one thing:

Israel (and the US) must strike Iran before they have the nuke. At least, that is what all the military pundits have been saying, and loudly. In May, Maj. General Paul Vallely was certain that a Mid-East regional war would come this summer. The CIA thought Israel would strike Iran in August, and sent a memo to Obama saying so.

Biblical eschatologists know that the Gog-Magog battle is THE battle that ends the Church Age. It is THE war that brings Israel back into covenant with God. It is THE war that spawns the Covenant that the antichrist makes strong. No matter what happens prior, the very last moment the Church can be on earth is by the end of that battle against Israel by Iran-Russia, Turkey etc.

Therefore, we have all been waiting for the axe to fall. We've been looking for Israel to do something, since it seems obvious she is on her own with not even the US on her side. Iran is weeks away from a nuke! When will the bombs fly? When will we see bug-eyed reporters in the hot zone reporting on the latest exchanges between Israel and her enemies? Well, while we were all looking up, we should have been looking at our computers. There's a worm, and it may have been sent to Iran in just as deadly a package as a missile.

The Stuxnet 99 worm.

Iran Announces Bushehr Power Plant Delays Amid Stuxnet Speculation
"The announcement is raising eyebrows because of news last week that a mysterious and powerful computer worm -- called Stuxnet -- had infected computers at the atomic plant. Experts say Stuxnet is so sophisticated that only a team of developers supported by a nation state or a very wealthy private group could have created it. That diagnosis has in turn led to speculation that the worm was created specifically to attack Iran's nuclear program."

Hmmm, a powerful and sophisticated computer worm is affecting industrial plants, wreaking havoc and causing scientists and geeks from around the world to run about with clipboards. I am sure that War Rooms are being set up, too. This computer worm is so sophisticated it can override internal security measures and destroy from within. Imagine a computer worm that can override a nuke plant's cooling system. Or a train computer's switches and tracking overridden. A sewer plant shutting off the cleanup and gushing sewage into fresh water systems instead. Bridge tenders unable to open, or close bridges over waterways. Oil pipelines opened to spew oil in pristine areas, waterways, or cities. The dastardly possibilities are endless.

When Iran first made the announcement that their Bushehr nuclear plant, ready to go online in weeks, was experiencing delays, eyebrows went up. When it came out that the delay was because of a computer virus, then eyebrows really went up. It then came out that though other countries are affected, namely Indonesia and India, Iran was suffering the most infections, with 60% of computers in that nation defeated because of stuxnet malware.

Of course, Iran denied it. Then acknowledged it. But then said it wasn't so bad.

Iran Acknowledges Stuxnet Worm Infection
"Iran began loading fuel rods into the Bushehr plant in August. At that time, Ali Shirzadian, a spokesman for the country's atomic agency, said that Bushehr would be connected to the national grid in October or November. Soon after, though, Salehi announced that the fuel rods would be delayed until September, and then September became October. Salehi blamed the delay on the hot weather, saying the rods had to be loaded at night, according to Agence France-Presse. Analysis by security firm Symantec found that that 60 percent of Stuxnet's attacks occurred in Iran. Last week, Iranian officials confirmed reports that Stuxnet had infected 30,000 computers in the country, including personal computers used by staff at Bushehr, but they said the damage had not been significant. Today Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast shrugged off speculation that Bushehr was badly affected, Sky News reports.
"The first computer virus designed to damage targets in the real world has not hit Iran's nuclear power plant, the country's Government has claimed. The Stuxnet worm is the first known malicious software of its kind unleashed by computer hackers and has opened the door to a new era of cyber-warfare.  Experts say it is designed to destroy or sabotage factories, power plants, refineries or other industrial installations.  But Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast denied widespread suggestions the nation's Bushehe nuclear station had been badly affected."

Meanwhile, the world is awakening to the very real likelihood that the initial salvos of a de-stabilizing Middle East war may have occurred, quietly, with a whimper.

David Warren at the Ottawa Citizen wrote,

"It would appear that a significant thing has happened -- an act of war with extraordinary consequences -- without anyone getting visibly upset. Perhaps I am understating: but the cyber worm attack on the Iranian nuclear facility at Bushehr may well have put it out of commission as effectively as any cruise missile strike by the Israeli or U.S. air force."

Finger pointing at Israel began almost immediately.

Speculation on Israeli involvement in malware computer attack
"The theory among experts is that this "took the resources of a nation-state to create a piece of malware so sophisticated," Richard Falkenrath of Chertoff Group told Bloomberg this week. It is theoretically possible that the U.S. did this, he said, noting that this was a remote possibility. A more likely creator, he said, was Israel."

And this one:  Stuxnet code hints at possible Israeli origin

And today it seems that perhaps the worm has been traced to Israel

Stuxnet analysis supports Israel-Iran connection
"Speculation about the Stuxnet work has grown rampant in in the last week, as everyone from computer security experts to political scientists to divinity experts have weighed in on details of the worm, which was first identified in July. The story burst into the popular media after security and industrial control experts - looking at the capabilities and infection statistics from the Stuxnet worm -- suggested that it may have been a  targeted attack aimed at Iran's nuclear enrichment facilities, and each day has brought new revelations about the impact of the worm and its possible origins. ... Though most of the conversation about Stuxnet is still based on conjecture, O'Murchu said that Symantec's analysis of Stuxnet's code for manipulating PLCs on industrial control systems by Siemsen backs up both the speculation that Iran was the intended target and that Israel was the possible source of the virus."

It is very difficult to know with any surety which nation may have wrought havoc of this kind on another nation. But is Iran crazy enough not to need 100% proof? Could Iran retaliate conventionally? Ynet News out of Israel asks this most pertinent question:

Could Iran retaliate for apparent cyber attack?
Security experts believe Tehran will be reeling from effects of Stuxnet computer worm for a while, but warn it may try to strike back and 'set in motion a deadly game that catalyses a nuclear program'

"Iran has limited capacity to retaliate in kind to an apparent cyber attack that infected computers at its sole nuclear power plant, analysts say, but some worry it could seek to hit back by other means. Security experts say they believe the release of the Stuxnet computer worm may have been a state-backed attack on Iran's nuclear program, most likely originating in the United States or Israel. But they say the truth may never be known. Tehran officials say Stuxnet computer virus infected 30,000 computers in Islamic Republic. Computer experts estimate worm originates from US, Israel, UK France or Germany. Little information is available on how much damage, if any, Iran's nuclear and wider infrastructure has suffered from Stuxnet -- and Tehran will probably never share the full details. Officials said on Sunday the worm had hit staff computers at the Bushehr nuclear power plant but had not affected major systems there. Some analysts believe Iran may be suffering wider sabotage aimed at slowing down its nuclear ambitions, and point to unexplained technical problems that have cut the number of working centrifuges in its uranium enrichment program."

The times are uncertain, but God holds it all together by His Word and His Will. However, He made promises for certain things to be done by and to Israel which will affect the unbelieving world:

"Seventy weeks have been decreed for your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sin, to make atonement for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy place." (Dan 9:24) Those seventy weeks were paused at the Ascension of Christ, which suspended the Age of Law and brought in the Age of Grace. At some point, the Age of Grace will be fulfilled when the number of Gentiles is brought in (Romans 11:25) and the Age of Law will resume to its promised conclusion. NOW is the time to accept Jesus' offer of free salvation. That promise expires at the Rapture when the Age of the Law resumes and you are then responsible to maintain your own faith without indwelling aid of the Holy Spirit, in a Time of Jacob's Trouble that is so bad no flesh would remain alive on earth unless Jesus cut it short. And worse, you will be at risk of the believing the lie, that antichrist is savior and not Jesus, risking eternity in hell forever. I'd take His offer now, if you have not already. Jesus paid your sin-price. He redeemed you from the pit of hell to an eternity of glory and joy, all you need do is ask forgiveness of your sins and make Him your Savior. He is ready for you! Are you ready for HIM? The time draws near, please consider your eternal destiny now.