Albanian cyberattack: New sanctions imposed on Iran
The United States Treasury Department said the sanctions were in response to a July cyberattack that disrupted government websites in Albania.
The Biden administration has imposed new sanctions on Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security which Washington and Tirana blamed on Tehran.
“Iran’s cyber-attack against Albania disregards norms of responsible peacetime State behavior in cyberspace, which includes a norm on refraining from damaging critical infrastructure that provides services to the public,” Treasury official Brian Nelson said in a statement.
“We will not tolerate Iran’s increasingly aggressive cyber activities targeting the United States or our allies and partners,” The statement added.
Albanian cyberattack: New sanctions imposed on Iran
The July cyberattack has sparked a diplomatic crisis between Albania and Iran, which has rejected the allegations it was responsible for the incident as “baseless”.
Albania, a NATO member, also hosts the Iranian opposition group Mujahedeen-e-Khalq (MEK), which Iran views as a “terrorist” organisation that seeks to forcibly overthrow the Islamic government in Tehran.
