Iran accuses Israel of cyberattack on its gas station network
Iran accuses Israel of cyberattack on its gas station network
Simultaneously with the cyberattack on gas stations, electronic displays on the streets of Iranian cities were hacked, on which inscriptions condemning the ruling regime were highlighted. Iranian authorities have officially blamed Israel for the attack.
A large-scale cyberattack has led to the failure of many gas stations throughout Iran. Huge queues at the entrances to gas stations have created serious traffic jams in Tehran and many other cities.
The cyberattack directly paralyzed the stations themselves and the fuel pumps, leaving refuellers out of work, who could only watch helplessly at the huge queues of customers that grew throughout the day.
The Iranian head of the gas station association said that the disruption of gas stations across the country was clearly caused by a cyber attack, and the head of the Iranian Fuel Directorate urged citizens not to come to gas stations.
In Shiraz province, the authorities were forced to simply close most of the gas stations, and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) militants were sent to guard them. Some gas stations were also closed in northern Tehran.
When asked about this serious incident, Iran's Interior Minister first said that an investigation was underway and then said that there were no problems with fuel supplies. However, reports of giant queues at gas stations across Iran, accompanied by relevant footage, were broadcast by a variety of media outlets, including the official Iranian student agency ISNA ...
Just two hours before the Iranian fuel system paralyzed, the IRGC commander issued a statement announcing that his organization had made great strides in both cyber attacks and defense against them. However, the ensuing cyberattack on a network of Iranian gas stations exposed both his words and himself to ridicule.
Simultaneously with the cyberattack on gas stations, electronic displays on the streets of Iranian cities were hacked, on which inscriptions condemning the ruling regime were highlighted. Some of them read: "Khamenei, where is our fuel?"
Iranian authorities have officially blamed Israel for the attack.
In addition, last night there were also reports of another cyberattack taking place in Iran - this time on the banking system, resulting in the disruption and shutdown of many banks.
Recall that about two weeks ago, a large-scale cyberattack was carried out on the Israeli medical center Hillel Yaffe, located in Heder, disrupting the activities of the hospital.
Israel vs Iran
I have already written several times that the efforts of the Iranian authorities to enrich uranium, most likely, are not yet close to achieving their goals. Iran is still far from obtaining nuclear weapons. At the same time, Israel will use literally every means at its disposal (except for open war, which remains Israel's last option) to disrupt Iranian nuclear activity.
If indeed it is Israel that is responsible for the cyberattack on the network of Iranian gas stations, and it looks like it is, apparently in Israel it was decided to carry out a series of actions that not only cause real and effective damage, but will also have a strong deterrent potential.
The disruption of filling stations, together with the paralysis of the banking system, is tantamount to bombing the fuel system and fuel reserves with a simultaneous attack on the economic system, since such a cyberattack actually paralyzed the national fuel supply structure and its banking network in Iran.
These are more than drastic measures, and Israel, apparently, decided to take them for several reasons:
First, to deter Iran from further cyberattacks on Israeli hospitals and other critical infrastructure such as electricity, water, communications and healthcare.
Secondly, in order to strike directly at Iran's sense of security and make it clear to the ruling regime there that it is in fact very vulnerable and will not be able to withstand large-scale cyber attacks, and therefore, it should not initiate attacks on Israel, both physical and electronic.
Thirdly, it was a violation and even damage to the routine of daily Iranian life, in order to provoke the Iranian population against the authorities responsible for the anti-Israeli sabotage and, accordingly, also for the retaliatory actions of Israel.
Fourthly, it was a sabotage against Iranian activities in areas that are of great importance for strengthening military potential, since damage to the filling structure, transport system and banking network directly disrupts the activities of all ministries of the Iranian government, and in addition, in general, damages the process of strengthening Iran. ...
And finally, fifth, it was a more than transparent warning to the Iranian authorities that their ongoing race to nuclear weapons could lead to cyberattacks of increasing intensity, which could ultimately cause enormous damage to Iran.
Meanwhile, the Iranian regime continues to provoke the American administration. The Washington Post reported, citing senior officials in the US administration, that last week's attack on the US base in Syria at Al-Tanf was the largest and most sophisticated of all Iranian attacks on that base to date. and that it was a serious escalation. The Americans, by the way, did not suffer losses in this attack.