“Through announcing their efforts to preserve the JCPOA, Europeans both wanted to keep the nuclear deal alive and pave the way for the US sanctions, and today we see they are killing time,” Brigadier General Gholamreza Jalali, head of Iran’s Passive Defense Organization said.

Jalali added that the European solutions cannot be trusted, calling on the Iranian officials to look for better alternative solutions.

The head of Iran’s Passive Defense Organization pointed out that the United States intended to topple the Iranian establishment immediately after its withdrawal from the nuclear deal along with putting the maximum economic pressures on the country, but then when they realized their goal was not achievable, they stepped back and said that they sought changing Iran’s behavior as the goal of the sanctions.

Referring to newly released strategic documents of the United States, he said “new strategic documents in the United States have revealed new issues that should be paid attention to seriously. They stress that they should have control over cyberspace, and this shows that there is the possibility of imposing cyber-related sanctions. They may want to disrupt sustainable services in our country.”

Jalali added “another issue that is likely being pursued by them is cutting off the Internet in some areas [in the country]. Furthermore, they may attack the country’s infrastructure, which requires our readiness to counter cyber attacks.”

“Disrupting critical infrastructure such as the national gas distribution network, and even our banking network can be one of the strategies of the enemies,” he went on to explain.

Furthermore, he said that Passive Defense Organization has given special programs to government sectors instructing them how to defend themselves against threats.

There are many countries in the world that carry out targeted biological attacks within the framework of economic objectives, he said, adding, “possibility of terrorist attacks always exists at any condition.”

He made the above remark in an interview with IRNA on Sat. Dec. 22 and said, “at the current situation, there is the possibility of bioterrorism attacks, some of which have been orchestrated in Iran and other countries against commanders, leaders and officials including Yasser Arafat former Palestinian leader and Hugo Chavez of Venezuela.”

If a country takes action against another country, these kinds of threats and strategies are ‘hidden’, he observed.

In general, health of human, livestock, poultry, aquatic animals, agricultural produce, plants and drinking water are of six basic pillars of the biological defense, he said, adding, “in this regard, health of human, family, food security and healthy life are among the most important priorities.”

In response to a question whether enemies can threaten health condition of people through biological threats, he said, “biological threats are a fact, one part of which is natural while another part is related to the manmade factor.”

He pointed to the first priority of the passive defense and said, “saving human lives and maintaining human capital are of the first priority of the biological passive defense. Therefore, even if the biological factors are created unintentionally and threatens human life, it is considered as a type of threat from the passive defense perspective.”