In Iran on Monday about 70% of the country’s 33,000 gas stations were knocked out of service. Iran blamed a “software problem” for this major disruption, but the Iranian Oil Minister, Javad Owji, signaled that the issue was likely caused by outside interference.
reuters
An Israeli-linked hacker group claimed responsibility. “Predatory Sparrow,” or Gonjeshke Darande, posted on Telegram that it had carried out the cyberattack on Iran. The group’s statement read;
We, Gonjeshke Darande, carried out another cyberattack today, taking out a majority of the gas pumps throughout Iran...A month ago, we warned you that we’re back and that we will impose cost for your provocations. This is just a taste of what we have in store.
bbc
Reported in France 24 reported Owji said that;
the Zionist enemy (Israel) and the United States suffered blows in other fronts, they sought to create trouble.
The report continued by saying that the problem affected payments for its subsidized petrol, which is among the cheapest in the world—at about 3 U.S. cents a gallon. The stations have since re-opened, and Tehran has announced an investigation.
Map from Britannica
The alleged hack occurred as Israel carries out its Gaza genocide, which has been fully backed and funded by the U.S. On the same day Lloyd Austin, U.S. Secretary of Defense, visited Tel Aviv and vowed to continue U.S. support stating Washington’s support is unshakeable. According to Al Jazeera, Austin said;
In any campaign, there will be phases. We will also continue to urge the protection of civilians during conflict and to increase the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza.
Iran remains Israel and the U.S.’s ultimate target in the region so expect these cyberattacks against Iran to not only persist, but so too a military confrontation.
Meanwhile the Iranian backed Houthi rebels in Yemen continue to be a thorn in the side of the US ships currently taking up positions in the Red Sea. Regular drone attacks are costing the US navy money to bring them down. Last month they also seized a vehicle transport ship linked to Israel.
Al Jazeera
Can you imagine the Western press response if Iran had launched this cyberattack on Israel?
It would be headline news in the West and used as another excuse to support Israel because in the U.S. state of mind, Israel, and only Israel “has the right to defend themselves” if they launch a counter attack. But when Israel does this to Iran and if Iran launches a counterattack, it would be denounced as a war crime and used as an excuse to punish Iran both monetarily and militarily.
This feels very much to me like the build up to World War Three. The so-called “Axis of Evil” has been declared as Russia, China and Iran. For decades analysts conceived of the next war being nuclear – but now it rather seems to be more about drones and cyber attacks.
As we enter 2024 the prospect of world peace seems ever further away.
Veteran Life
