On Monday, France announced that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) was behind "unprecedented" cyber attacks on supermarket refrigerators in the country last month, and that it intends to impose sanctions at the European level against Tehran.
Cyber Attacks and Resulting Damages
On October 11 and 12, a large number of French supermarkets were targeted by these attacks, leading to increased temperatures in their refrigerators, and in some cases, forcing them to destroy all perishable food stocks.
Jean-Noël Barrot, the French Foreign Minister, stated regarding these cyber attacks: "I can confirm that this attack was carried out by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of Iran. This attack is unprecedented in terms of scale and level of aggression." He added: "This is the first large-scale cyber attack aimed at sabotage on our national territory and poses a serious threat to national interests and the security of the French people."
Judicial Investigations and Reactions
Barrot also announced that France has summoned the Iranian ambassador in Paris to express strong protest against this very serious act and said: "We will take all necessary and appropriate actions - both public and private - to respond to this incident and deter anyone who wishes to repeat it."
Meanwhile, the Paris prosecutor announced that a judicial investigation has been initiated regarding an Iranian cyber unit linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Laura Beko, the Paris prosecutor, stated in a statement that investigations have begun against the leader of the Iranian group Shahid Kaveh and two of his deputies, as well as any other individuals identified.
Barrot further pointed out that the attacks on French supermarket systems were directly linked to 700 sites. However, there are also reports of similar incidents occurring in other European countries.
Josep Borrell, the EU's chief foreign policy official, echoed Barrot's remarks, stating: "Our response must be strong" and added that he has recently been informed of the attribution of this attack to Iran.
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