France supermarket hack marks new phase in Iran's shadow war

France has accused Iran's Revolutionary Guards of being behind cyberattacks on scores of supermarkets on October 11 and 12. The attacks raised temperatures in refrigerators and freezers, which in some instances forced the disposal of entire inventories of perishable food. According to The Korea Times, similar incidents were reported in at least 11 other European countries in early November.

The Iranian foreign ministry has rejected the accusations, calling them baseless, one-sided, and a hackneyed policy of leveling accusations against the Islamic republic. Analysts told Al-Monitor that the incident marks a new phase in an asymmetric campaign by Tehran against the United States that is now extending onto European soil.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said Tuesday that France will take all measures it deems proportionate and necessary to deter further attacks, including measures that may not be disclosed publicly. In response to the attacks, France has summoned Iran's ambassador and is seeking sanctions at the European level.

Brief written by urgent.news from Al-Monitor, The Korea Times — 2 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.