Iran says the US exploited networking equipment backdoors during strikes, claiming Cisco and other devices failed despite a blackout in an attack that “indicates deep sabotage”

Iranian state media alleged U.S. and Israeli strikes exploited hidden flaws in networking gear from Cisco, Juniper, Fortinet, and MikroTik.

The article says the claims are unverified, though it notes prior security issues involving those vendors.

U.S. officials have acknowledged cyber operations against Iranian communications networks.

The story highlights how networking hardware can become a strategic wartime vulnerability.