Iranian official says president’s cellphone was tapped

TEHRAN, Iran – Iranian officials say President Hassan Rouhani’s mobile phone was tapped, without providing details on who was behind it or what information they might have gleaned.

The semi-official ISNA news agency on Monday quoted Gen. Gholam Reza Jalali, the head of a military unit charged with combatting sabotage, as saying Rouhani’s phone was tapped “recently” and would be replaced with a more secure device. He did not provide further details.

Iran moved to boost its cyber capabilities in 2011 after the Stuxnet computer virus destroyed thousands of centrifuges involved in its contested nuclear program. Stuxnet is widely believed to be an American and Israeli creation.