Tehran says Israel-linked Predatory Sparrow group is behind the disruption.
A cyberattack has disrupted providers at round 70 p.c of Iran’s gas stations, based on reviews.
The Israel-linked group Predatory Sparrow, or Gonjeshke Darande in Persian, claimed on Monday it was behind the disruption, based on Iranian state TV. Israel media shops additionally reported the declare.
“This cyberattack was carried out in a managed method to keep away from potential harm to emergency providers,” Predatory Sparrow stated in its assertion quoted by the Iranian media.
An announcement on the assault was shared from a brand new account with the group’s title opened in early December on X.
Iran’s civil defence company, which is accountable for the nation’s cybersecurity, stated it was nonetheless contemplating all potential causes for the disruptions because it investigated.
Iranian state media added that the hacker group has previously claimed cyberattacks in opposition to Iranian petrol stations, rail networks and metal factories.
The gas outages are the primary such incident since 2021, when a serious cyberattack in Iran disrupted the sale of gas, inflicting lengthy queues at stations throughout the nation.
Pump costs in Iran are closely subsidised. Iran accused Israel and america of being behind these assaults.
Stations working manually
The disruptions started early on Monday and had been particularly acute in Tehran. Many petrol stations have been compelled to function their pumps manually, Iranian media reported.
“Not less than 30 p.c of gasoline stations are working, with the remaining step by step resolving the disruption in providers,” Oil Minister Javad Owji stated.
Reza Navar, a spokesman for Iran’s gas stations affiliation, had instructed the semiofficial Fars information company {that a} technical difficulty was behind the disruption.
“A software program downside with the gas system has been confirmed in some stations throughout the nation and consultants are at present fixing the problem,” Navar stated.
Navar added that there was no gas provide scarcity however referred to as on drivers to not go to gas stations.
The Ministry of Petroleum earlier instructed state TV that the disruption was not linked to plans to extend the worth of gas, a coverage that precipitated widespread protests in 2019 and led to violent repression.
State TV stated petrol stations had been looking for to offer gas manually and that it could take at the very least six to seven hours to resolve the issues.
Israel has not but commented on the cyberattack.
Israel’s unit on cyberattacks on Monday stated Iran and Hezbollah had been behind an tried cyberattack on a hospital in northern Israel about three weeks in the past.
It stated that the assault was thwarted however that the hackers had been capable of retrieve “among the delicate info saved within the hospital’s info techniques”.
