According to the government, hackers have largely paralyzed the petrol station network in Iran. The Supreme National Security Council has confirmed a cyber attack on the computer system for gasoline distribution, reported the Iranian state television. It was not stated who was responsible for the cyber attack.
The Iranian petrol station association initially spoke of a "technical defect" that had paralyzed the payment system in petrol stations across the country. "In the morning we got the message that because of a software defect, refueling with the subsidy card is no longer possible in many gas stations across the country," said a spokesman for the association, according to the Isna news agency.
Thus, Iranians could only fill up without this fuel card, but the fuel was then twice as expensive. Eyewitnesses reported that long queues formed in front of gas stations in the capital Tehran . The state media also showed pictures of closed gas stations and vehicle lines that were getting longer and longer. A spokesman for the National Society for the Distribution of Fuel Products said an emergency meeting would be held on the situation.
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While state television was already speculating about a possible cyber attack at this point in time, Interior Minister Ahmed Wahidi initially spoke of a "technical problem" that would be "quickly resolved". In Tehran, according to media reports, technicians from the oil ministry switched off the computer system at some petrol stations so that the fuel could be dispensed manually.
The anniversary of the petrol price protests is imminent
The conservative Fars news agency linked the catastrophic failure with the anniversary of the start of the mass protests in November 2019. On November 15, two years ago, the rise in the price of petrol in the middle of the economic crisis sparked protests across the country, some of which were violent.
Interior Minister Wahidi assured state radio that the government "has no plans to increase the price of petrol". People "shouldn't worry".
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