“The Zionists are behind the severe disruptions” at gas stations nationwide, charged the Islamic Republic’s Chief of Civil Defense Brig. Gen. Gholamreza Jalali, about a cyberattack that evidently caused greater damage that initially acknowledged.
By Jonathan Hessen and Erin Viner
“We have been constantly faced with diverse forms of threats,” insisted Gen. Jalali went on to say at a Tehran press briefing, before going on to accuse both the United States and Israel of “suffering self-sabotage and self-defeat by treating Iran with hostility.”
Asserting that “internal cohesion” between Jerusalem and Washington “has eroded due to their unpopular hostile policies,” the Iranian civil defense chief went on to allege that, “We have seen the toppling of (former US President) Donald Trump and (former Israeli Prime Minister) Benjamin Netanyahu – partially owing to Iran’s tough resistance against their pressure policies.”
Secretary of Iran’s Supreme Council of Cyberspace AbolHassan Firouzabadi stopped short of directly accusing Israel of responsibility, saying only that “the complexity and widespread nature of the attack coupled with it coinciding with some other attacks show that a foreign country was involved in this.”
In efforts to reassure an anxious nation, Iranian Oil Minister Javad Owji said the “benzene fuel stockpile is plentiful and we will resume exporting petroleum to neighboring countries within the coming weeks.”
During a public tour of a gas station in the capital, Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi called for continued vigilance against enemy sabotage attempts.
“We must maintain this awareness and readiness against possible attacks that could not only happen for the Ministry of Petroleum, but for other ministries and organizations. There must be a level of readiness so that they can repel any type of attack and absolutely prevent enemies from disrupting the lives of people through software,” he said.