France summoned Iran’s ambassador on Tuesday, November 10, after accusing Iran’s Revolutionary Guard of directing an October cyberattack that disrupted refrigeration at hundreds of French supermarkets, and said it would seek sanctions and consider further measures.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot announced the accusation a day earlier and said the Guard’s cyber unit carried out the operation. The attacks took place on October 11 and 12. Hackers remotely interfered with cooling systems used by businesses, causing temperatures to rise.
Stores were left with spoiled food and damaged equipment. French authorities said about 700 of the country’s roughly 10,000 supermarkets were affected. Paris prosecutors said their investigation linked the incident to Iran’s paramilitary force.
Barrot described the attack as unusually large and aggressive. He said France would not rule out actions it considered suited to the scale of the attack, to discourage further attacks. The Foreign Ministry said it received the ambassador on Tuesday for a formal protest.
Iran rejected the accusation as baseless. Paris said it would pursue European sanctions against those it holds responsible.