An official told the Guardian that the military option is now less likely, citing not only the cyberattack, but also the synchronised assassination last year of two Iranian nuclear scientists, attributed to Israel.

A leading analyst, Avner Cohen, the Washington-based author of Israel and the Bomb and Worst-Kept Secret: Israel's Bargain with the Bomb, also told this newspaper: "In the short term, it surely makes military action less likely. In fact, I do not see any military action against Iran anytime soon. It takes the pressure off. It does not mean military action is off the table, but it is not a short-term concern."