Israel-Hamas war: Israeli hacking group disrupts 70% of Iran’s petrol pumps

A major cyberattack disrupted at least 70 per cent of Iran’s petrol stations on Monday (Dec 18), with the country’s oil minister hinting at the possibility of foreign interference.

A hacking group, with alleged links to Israel, has claimed responsibility for the attack. The group, named “Gonjeshke Darande,” or “predatory sparrow” in a statement said, “This cyberattack comes in response to the aggression of the Islamic Republic and its proxies in the region.” 

It claimed that it “disabled the majority of gas pumps throughout Iran”.

“Khamenei, playing with fire has a price,” it added in statements in Persian and English.

Iran’s oil minister Javad Owji also confirmed that the disruption had affected 70 per cent of the country’s fuel stations.

“At least 30 per cent of gas stations are working, with the rest gradually resolving the disruption in services,” Owji was quoted as saying by Reuters.

Reza Navar, a spokesperson for Iran’s gas stations association, said experts were fixing the issue and it may take some time.

“A software problem with the fuel system has been confirmed in some stations across the country and experts are currently fixing the issue,” he added.

He also made clear that the disruption had nothing to do with rumours of fuel shortage in the country. However, he urged the people not to go to the fuel stations.

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The oil ministry also told state TV that the disruption is in no way linked to any plan to increase the price of fuel, a policy that caused widespread protests in 2019 and led to violent repression.

Iran’s state TV said petrol stations were trying to provide fuel manually until the problem was fixed in a “few hours.”

A similar cyberattack had rocked the Shi’ite nation in 2021 when the sale of fuel throughout the nation was affected.

Iran had accused the US and Israel of being behind the attack.

(With inputs from agencies)