The following story has more than a whiff of a Bondsian caper, as Israel stands accused of picking off Iranian nuclear scientists in a bid to disrupt the country’s nuclear weapons program.

According to U.S. intelligence sources, a ‘decapitation’ plan has been enacted with hitmen, double agents, sabotage, and front companies primed and ready for action.

Reva Bhalla, a senior analyst with Stratfor, has stated that the strategy was to take out key people:

With co-operation from the United States, Israeli covert operations have focused both on eliminating key human assets involved in the nuclear programme and in sabotaging the Iranian nuclear supply chain. As US-Israeli relations are bound to come under strain over the Obama administration’s outreach to Iran, and as the political atmosphere grows in complexity, an intensification of Israeli covert activity against Iran is likely to result. [Source]

Reviewing the past few years, it seems that – providing the covert operations are credible – Israel and possibly U.S. activities are by no means new; in 2007 Mossad was linked to the mysterious demise of Ardeshire Hassanpour, a leading nuclear scientist at  the Isfahan uranium plant.

Moving a little closer to home, the frisson of espionage is no less diminished, as Europeans officials are warned of interns (particularly those of “the long legs and the blonde hair” variety no less) infiltrating the Commission’s Berlaymont HQ in Brussels.

Young, vivacious, and employing the age-old technique of hide-the-sausage and pillow talk with their lascivious Eurocrat gents, the news has raised some eyebrows as to the true origin of the security brief:

I think men working here in boring jobs would love to believe that sexy women spies were after their bodies and their secrets. I personally think it is unlikely. [Source]

Personally, I love the way the Telegraph feels the need to note that the above speaker is 24-year-old Baltic lass; more so, I love that it is Petra who bursts the bubble.

Come along menfolk, spend less time pondering straight bananas and male fantasies, and we might just get out of this God awful recession by 2010.