The US has imposed new sanctions on Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security over what it called “malign cyber activities”.
The United States Treasury Department said on Friday that the sanctions were in response to a July cyberattack that disrupted government websites in Albania, which Washington and Tirana blamed on Tehran, reports Aljazeera.
Friday’s sanctions, which also targeted Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib, come a day after Washington imposed penalties on several Iranian companies, accusing them of being involved in the production and transfer of drones to Russia for the war in Ukraine.
According to the report, “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,” said Treasury official Brian Nelson.
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”.
Bd-pratidin English/Golam Rosul
