On a Monday evening in November, France's Foreign Minister stepped into a space few European governments have dared to enter and named a state as the hand behind a cyber campaign that turned supermarket fridges into a quiet source of spoiled food and empty shelves across the continent. The October attacks, which forced stores to pull stock and close their doors, are now placed on the record as the work of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps, and Paris has answered with both diplomacy and a judicial inquiry. Yet the larger picture remains unfinished, because a later wave of attacks and a string of
France Names Iran's Revolutionary Guards in Europe-Wide Supermarket Fridge Cyberattacks, Vows Sanctions
Attacks forced many supermarkets in multiple European countries to close and pulled stock from shelves; no casualties are reported.
Hundreds of supermarkets, one named culprit, and a second wave still unexplained
Mark
Why does it matter that France named the IRGC so openly?
Mimi
Because Barrot is the first European leader to do it. He said he could confirm it, and he paired the statement with a summoned ambassador and a promise of EU-level sanctions.
Mark
And the prosecutors?
Mimi
They opened a judicial investigation into the head of Shahid Kaveh, a cyber unit tied to the IRGC's Electronic and Cyber Center, plus his two deputies and anyone else identified.
Luke
Worth noting what we're actually told. The attribution is France's government stating it. The reporting doesn't describe the evidence behind it.
Mark
Fair. What about the second round of attacks last week?
Mimi
Neither Barrot nor the prosecutors said whether they're connected to the October ones.
Luke
Same with the flight bomb hoaxes that week. No country has been blamed. Iran and Russia were both suspected, but that was suspicion, not a finding.
Mark
So what's the human cost here?
Mimi
Pulled stock, closed supermarkets in several countries. No casualties reported.
Luke
And no figure for losses either. 'Hundreds' of French supermarkets is the only count we have.
Mark
What comes next?
Mimi
Whether European governments agree to sanctions, and whether the later incidents get tied to the same hands.
El Pulso
- France has publicly named Iran's Revolutionary Guard as responsible for cyberattacks that remotely overheated supermarket fridges, a charge no European leader had made before.
- Hundreds of French supermarkets and stores in several other countries were forced to pull stock and shut down after the October 11 and 12 attacks.
- Paris summoned Iran's ambassador and opened a judicial probe targeting the IRGC-linked cyber unit Shahid Kaveh and its leadership.
- France is pushing for European-wide sanctions, moving the dispute from a bilateral quarrel into Brussels' hands.
- A second wave of fridge attacks and dozens of flight bomb hoaxes remain unattributed, with suspicion still drifting between Iran and Russia.
- No casualties have been reported, but the open question of whether the later incidents share the same actors keeps the matter far from settled.
On a Monday evening in November, France's Foreign Minister stepped into a space few European governments have dared to enter and named a state as the hand behind a cyber campaign that turned supermarket fridges into a quiet source of spoiled food and empty shelves across the continent. The October attacks, which forced stores to pull stock and close their doors, are now placed on the record as the work of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps, and Paris has answered with both diplomacy and a judicial inquiry. Yet the larger picture remains unfinished, because a later wave of attacks and a string of flight bomb hoaxes sit in the same unsettled period without a clear author, and the continent is left to decide how far its response should reach.
On Monday evening, France's Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot made a statement no European leader had made before. The cyberattacks that had crippled supermarket refrigeration across the continent, he said, were carried out by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. He described the operation as unprecedented in its scale and aggression.
The attacks struck French supermarkets on October 11 and 12. Attackers remotely pushed store fridges to dangerous temperatures, forcing staff to pull stock from shelves and forcing many shops to close. Hundreds of French stores were affected, and supermarkets in other European countries shut their doors too. No one has been reported hurt.
Paris responded on two fronts. It summoned Iran's ambassador and promised consequences, and it will push for sanctions across Europe, taking the matter to Brussels. Prosecutors opened a judicial investigation targeting the leadership of Shahid Kaveh, an offensive cyber unit linked to the IRGC, along with its deputies and anyone else who may be identified.
The case is not yet closed. Officials have not said whether a second wave of fridge attacks last week is connected, nor have they blamed anyone for the dozens of European flight bomb hoaxes that arrived in the same week. Suspicion has bounced between Iran and Russia, which is itself accused of waging a hybrid war against Ukraine's allies. For now, Paris has its answer for October, and Europe must decide what to do with the rest.
On Monday evening, local time, France's Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot made a statement no European leader had made before: the cyberattacks that crippled supermarket refrigeration across the continent, he said, were the work of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. "I can confirm" the IRGC carried it out, he said, describing the attack as unprecedented in both its scale and its level of aggression.
The attacks reached French supermarkets on October 11 and 12. According to the reporting, the attackers remotely turned up the temperatures of store fridges. Stock had to be pulled from shelves, and many supermarkets closed. Hundreds of supermarkets in France were affected, and stores in multiple European countries were forced to shut as well. No casualties have been reported.
Paris has moved on two tracks. Diplomatically, France summoned Iran's ambassador and promised consequences. Barrot said France would push for sanctions at the European level against all those responsible, which means the matter is now headed to Brussels rather than staying a bilateral dispute.
Legally, French prosecutors announced a judicial investigation. Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said in a statement that it targets the head of Shahid Kaveh, an offensive cyber unit affiliated with the IRGC's Electronic and Cyber Center (IRGC-CEC), along with his two deputies and any other individuals who may be identified. The statement names the unit and its leadership by role, not by personal name.
What the announcements leave open is how far the case extends. Neither Barrot nor the prosecutors said whether a second wave of fridge cyberattacks last week is connected to the October incidents. That second wave came in the same week that dozens of European flights were hit by bomb hoaxes. No country has been blamed for those hoaxes so far.
Until now, suspicion over both the fridge campaign and the bomb hoaxes had fallen on either Iran or Russia. Russia has also been accused of waging a so-called hybrid war across Europe against allies of Ukraine. France's attribution settles the question for the October attacks as far as Paris is concerned, but it does not address the later incidents.
What to watch next is whether European partners endorse sanctions, and whether investigators tie the later fridge attacks and the flight hoaxes to the same actors, or to Russia.
Citas Notables
I can confirm that this attack was carried out by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of the Islamic Republic of Iran.— Jean-Noël Barrot, French Foreign Minister
A judicial investigation has been opened against the head of the Iranian group Shahid Kaveh, his two deputies, and any other individuals who may be identified.— Laure Beccuau, Paris prosecutor (paraphrased)
Quieres la nota completa?
Lee el original en ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) ↗
World & Diplomacy