The opposition and Saudi-affiliated Iran International is reporting that the Central Bank of Iran has been hit with a large-scale cyber attack which is caused major disruption to the banking system across the Islamic Republic.
The outlet says the impact of the attack if far-reaching, suggesting it could be one of the largest cyberattacks on Iran's state infrastructure to date, coming amid soaring regional tensions with Israel.
Earlier Wednesday, Iran's Supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, warned the country about threats of irregular warfare, stating, "The exaggeration of our enemies' capabilities is intended to spread fear among our people by the US, Britain, and the Zionists. The enemies' hand is not as strong as it is publicized. We must rely on ourselves."
He continued, "The enemy's goal is to spread psychological warfare to push us into political and economic retreat and achieve its objectives."
Could this reported major cyber attack be the work of Israeli intelligence? Likely many in Iran believe so.
Ironically it comes on the heels of claims by US officials and in Western media that Iranian state hackers are actively working to influence and interfere in the upcoming US elections.
However, there has been no proof of these allegations, but only references to poorly made spoof websites which seek to influence either conservative or liberal voters.
As for these Wednesday reports of a major cyber attack targeting Iranian banking, a story picked up in Israeli media as well, Iranian officials have not given official confirmation and state media sources remain silent thus far.
Last December, a major cyber attack took out a significant part of the country's gas stations, as it targeted widely used payment software, and Tehran attributed the disruption to Israel and the US.
#BREAKING A major cyberattack has targeted the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) and several other banks, leading to widespread disruptions in the country’s banking system, @IranIntl has learned. Initial assessments indicate this could be one of the largest cyberattacks ever against… pic.twitter.com/6TiuNrxosL
— Iran International English (@IranIntl_En) August 14, 2024
Israel has long been known to target Iran's nuclear program with cyber attacks, some of which have reportedly been successful in crippling the operations of key sites in the past.
Two weeks have passed since Haniyeh's killing and Israeli leaders are still bracing for some kind of potential big retaliation from Iran. If it is accurate that Iran's central bank has been crippled in the attack, and if Israel is behind it, this could convince Tehran to finally pull the trigger on its long awaited retaliation.
