Iran rejected the allegations made by Paris regarding its role in cyber attacks on supermarket refrigerators in France. The Iranian Foreign Ministry stated in a statement that these claims are "unfounded and malicious."
Condemnation of France's Allegations
The Iranian Foreign Ministry announced on Tuesday that the country "strongly" condemns France's accusations against Iran. This stance comes after Jean-Noël Barrot, the French Foreign Minister, stated on Monday that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of Iran was responsible for "unprecedented" cyber attacks on several supermarket chains last month.
Investigations in France
Barrot also clarified that Paris will consider various options in response to these attacks. These attacks have damaged 700 food distribution points. He stated, "We will take all necessary actions, including those that we will not publicly disclose, which we deem appropriate and necessary to prevent any further attacks and to punish those responsible for this unacceptable action."
The Iranian ambassador to France has been summoned by the country's Foreign Ministry to provide explanations regarding these attacks. French prosecutors announced that investigations into these hacks have begun. According to investigations, a cyber unit in Iran linked to the Revolutionary Guard, named Martyr Kaveh, was responsible for these malicious attacks.
The investigations in France will focus on the head of this unit. The prosecutor's office stated that about 20 fires have occurred due to these cyber attacks. The attackers activated abnormal melting cycles indefinitely by remotely accessing the equipment while disabling security alerts that should have been activated in case of temperature breaches.
International Reactions
Kaia Klaus, President of the European Council, announced on Monday that the issue of the alleged Iranian hacks will be discussed at the next meeting of the European Foreign Affairs Council. She said, "If the proportion of these attacks is confirmed, Europe's response must be strong." The European Commission has also been examining these cyber attacks, which Christoph Hansen, Commissioner for Agriculture and Food, described as "a deliberate attempt to disrupt our food supply chain."
