Key facts
- Iran's foreign ministry called France's accusations baseless and biased and strongly condemned its policy of making accusations against Iran.
- French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said on November 9 that Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps was responsible for the attacks.
- Barrot said on November 10 that Paris would not rule out anything in its response to the attacks.
- French prosecutors opened an investigation into the hacks and summoned Iran's ambassador to France.
- The Paris prosecutor's office said the investigation will focus on the head of Shahid Kaveh, an Iranian cyber unit linked to the IRGC.
- The Paris prosecutor's office said about 20 fires were started because of the cyberattack.
Iran's foreign ministry said in a statement on November 10 that French accusations linking Tehran to cyberattacks on supermarket refrigeration equipment were "baseless and biased" and that it "strongly condemns" France's "worn-out policy of making accusations against Iran."
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said on November 9 that Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps was responsible for what he called "unprecedented" cyberattacks against several supermarket chains last month. He said the attacks affected 700 food distribution sites. On November 10, Barrot said Paris would not "rule out anything" in its response and that France would take "all measures, including those we will not disclose publicly, which we ourselves consider proportionate and necessary to deter any further attacks and punish those responsible for this unacceptable aggression."
Iran's ambassador to France was summoned to the foreign ministry after French prosecutors said they were opening an investigation into the hacks. According to French investigators, Shahid Kaveh, an Iranian cyber unit linked to the IRGC, carried out the destructive attacks. The Paris prosecutor's office said the investigation will focus on the unit's head and that about 20 fires had been started because of the cyberattack.
The Paris prosecutor's office said the attackers took remote control of the equipment via web interfaces to trigger abnormal defrost cycles of unlimited duration while disabling security alerts on sensors meant to activate once a certain temperature was exceeded.