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Iran has said that it suffered a cyber attack that disrupted fuel distribution across 60 per cent of petrol stations in the country yesterday. Country’s Oil Minister Javad Owji blamed the external powers, for the nationwide disruption to services at petrol stations.
Iran, a major oil producer, has among the cheapest petrol prices in the world, with a card that allows Iranians to buy up to 60 litres per month at a subsidised rate of around 3 US cents per litre.
Deputy Oil Minister Jalil Salari has said that following the system failure, petrol stations disconnected the online system and fuel was being supplied offline.
The disruption has caused long car queues outside some stations in Tehran while others were completely shut. Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi called for an investigation and urged immediate measures to resolve the crisis.
Authorities formed a crisis committee and expressed hope that the system would be fixed within a few hours.
Iran suffered a similar week-long disruption in October 2021 which officials blamed on an unprecedented cyberattack by outside actors.
