Iran president: Cyberattack on gas stations meant to create anger, disruption

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi gave a speech Wednesday regarding the previous day’s cyberattack against the nation’s gas stations, saying it was meant to make “people angry by creating disorder and disruption.”

“There should be serious readiness in the field of cyberwar and related bodies should not allow the enemy to follow their ominous aims to make problem in trend of people’s life,” Raisi said, The Associated Press reported. 

During the cyberattack, when someone tried to use a government card to get subsidized fuel, a message popped up that said “cyberattack 64411,” according to the news agency ISNA. The agency later took down the post, saying they were hacked, but the AP reported that other outlets in Iran have also claimed they were hacked after posting news the government disapproves of.

The number in the message links to a hotline that handles Islamic law questions at Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s office. 

The number was also used in a cyberattack on the country’s railroad system in July, according to the AP.

An Iranian official claimed 80 percent of the country’s gas stations were selling fuel again Wednesday, with an AP reporter saying they saw long lines at gas stations in Tehran.

The cyberattack also comes as the country nears the second anniversary of a government crackdown against protesters due to gas prices, with thousands arrested and hundreds killed, the AP noted.