France summoned Iran's ambassador on Tuesday after accusing Tehran of a cyberattack that disabled refrigerators in hundreds of supermarkets, with Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot warning Paris could respond with cyber measures of its own, Reuters reports.
French officials said on Monday that Iran's Revolutionary Guards were behind the attacks, which disrupted commercial refrigeration systems across France in October.
"The summoning of the Iranian ambassador, announced by the minister yesterday, took place this morning," the foreign ministry said in a statement.
Barrot, speaking on France Info television, said France would push for EU sanctions in response to what he called an "attack of unprecedented scale and aggression in our country".
He said there could be further action that would not be disclosed.
"We will take whatever measures are necessary, including some that we will not discuss publicly, if we judge them proportionate and necessary to deter any new attacks and punish those responsible for this unacceptable aggression," Barrot said.
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12:09
France is considering all possible responses to a cyberattack targeting refrigeration facilities in the country, including measures beyond diplomatic action and European sanctions, Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said Tuesday, Anadolu Agency reports.
“We will not stop at summoning the ambassador or imposing European sanctions. We rule nothing out,” Barrot told broadcaster Franceinfo.
He said France would examine all possible measures to deter further attacks, referring to an Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) unit suspected of being behind the cyberattack.
French intelligence services have attributed the attack, which targeted supermarket refrigeration facilities in early October, to the IRGC’s cyber unit, French daily Le Figaro reported Monday.
Paris prosecutors have opened an investigation into the head of the Iranian Shahid Kaveh group, a cyber-offensive unit affiliated with the IRGC’s Electronic and Cyber Center, as well as two of its deputy leaders and other unidentified individuals.
The Paris prosecutor’s office has also requested international arrest warrants in the case.
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