U.S. Cyber Command targeted Iranian missile control systems

President Trump may have turned back from the brink of a military strike against Iran last week, but the U.S. did not completely avoid confrontation with Tehran. U.S. Cyber Command, with Trump's approval, launched a cyber strike against Iranian missile control systems on Thursday, anonymous U.S. officials said.

The cyber attack occurred after Trump backed down from a conventional military strike against Iran in retaliation for Iran shooting down a U.S. drone. The attacks disabled the computer systems of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps which controlled its rocket and missile launchers. Thursday's strikes were the first offensive show of force since Cyber Command was elevated to a full combatant command, The Washington Post reports.

The plans for the cyber attacks were reportedly in the works for weeks — the Pentagon proposed the tactic after Iran's alleged attacks on two oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman earlier this month.

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The U.S. is not the only side conducting hostile cyber activities. In recent weeks, following the Trump administration's sanctions on the Iranian petrochemical sector, hackers believed to be working for Iran reportedly targeted U.S. government agencies with spear-phishing emails.

The White House declined to comment and Tehran had no immediate reaction to the news as of Sunday morning.