Iran’s Communications Minister Makes Statements on US ‘Cyberattacks’

Iran’s Communications and Information Technology Minister has made statements on his Twitter account that appear to be in response to recent reports about a US cyberattack on Revolutionary Guards systems, following the downing of a US drone.

Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi noted that media outlets have asked him about the veracity of “alleged cyberattacks on Iran.”

Referring to “33 million cyberattacks in the past year” and “neutralizing them with Dezfaa shield,” he added, “They have not launched a successful attack, although they are making many attempts.”

This Iranian government official did not provide further details.

“Dezfaa” was designed by the Iranian government, and according to Tehran, it is meant to counter cyberattacks and other cyber security issues.

Iran’s state news agency IRNA had described it as “the national information network security shield.”

The system was unveiled two months ago in late Ordibehesht, but it is unclear whether it was also being used in the past year.

Apart from the communications minister’s tweet, no official Iranian Islamic Republic authorities have yet issued a formal response to reports published Saturday in the Associated Press and Washington Post.

American media outlets reported on the first of Tir that hours after an American unmanned aircraft was targeted and shot down by Iran, the United States conducted cyberattacks against Iranian military computers.

The Associated Press stated that the attacks specifically targeted Revolutionary Guards computers, and according to the Washington Post, these attacks disrupted the operation of computers controlling rockets and missiles.

After the drone was shot down, Donald Trump, the President of the United States, said he had halted a military response to it because he had heard it would result in dozens of deaths. The American president said that in his view such an attack “would have been disproportionate to the downing of an unmanned drone.”

No official US government authorities have yet confirmed or denied reports of the cyberattacks.

Donald Trump said he would impose further sanctions on Iran starting Monday US time. He nonetheless reiterated once again that he is ready to reach an agreement with Tehran.

The Leader of the Islamic Republic has rejected negotiations with the Trump administration, partly due to the increase in sanctions.

Source: Radio Farda