About 70% of Iran’s gas stations were suspended on Monday following a major cyberattack carried out by the hacker organization Gonjeshke Darande, which translates to “predatory sparrow” in Farsi. and metal plants, according to Iranian state media. The attacks have forced many fuel stations to run their pumps manually.
“We, Gonjeshke Darande, have carried out another cyberattack today, destroying most of Iran’s petrol pumps. This cyberattack comes as a reaction to the aggression of the Islamic Republic and its proxies in the region,” the organization wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. We alerted emergency services across the country before the operation began and ensured that a portion of the country’s gas stations were unharmed for the same reason, despite our access and ability to absolutely disrupt their operation. “
The organization joined X in December 2023 and in the past was connected to Israel, according to The Times of Israel. Around 300,000 Iranian Jews live in Israel, most of whom fled Iran as refugees during the 1979 revolution, when Iranian Jews were harshly persecuted and targeted through state-sanctioned violence. Many Iranian Jews living in Israel knew Iran and are fluent in Farsi.
The last time a primary cyberattack disrupted Iran’s fuel source was in October 2021. Iran also accused Israel and the United States of being the targets. Iran’s civil defense agency, which oversees the country’s cybersecurity, says it is still investigating the attack.
Iran’s Oil Ministry also told an Iranian TV channel that disruptions at gas stations would not affect the price of fuel. Iranian fuel is heavily subsidized by the state, and plans to increase the price of fuel in 2019 sparked major protests across the country. that year.