DUBAI: A hacking group that Iran accuses of having links to Israel claimed it carried out cyberattacks that disrupted services at petrol stations across Iran on Monday, Iranian state TV and Israeli local media reported.
Oil Minister Javad Owji earlier told Iranian state TV that services had been disrupted at about 70 percent of Iran’s petrol stations and that outside interference was a possible cause.
Iran’s state TV news said the Predatory Sparrow group claimed it was behind the disruption. Israeli local media outlets also reported the claim.
“This cyberattack was carried out in a controlled manner to avoid potential damage to emergency services,” Predatory Sparrow said in its statement according to Iranian media.
Iran’s civil defense agency, which is responsible for the country’s cybersecurity, said it was still considering all possible causes for the disruptions as it investigated.
Iranian state media added the that hackers group had in the past claimed cyberattacks against Iranian petrol stations, rail networks and steel factories.
The petrol outages on Monday are the first such incident since 2021, when a major cyberattack in Iran disrupted the sale of fuel, causing long queues at stations across the country. Petrol pump prices in Iran are heavily subsidized. Iran accused Israel and the United States of being behind those attacks.
The disruption began early Monday and was especially acute in Tehran, forcing many petrol stations to operate manually, Iranian media reported.
“At least 30 percent of gas stations are working, with the rest gradually resolving the disruption in services,” Owji said.
Reza Navar, a spokesperson for Iran’s petrol stations association, told semi-official Fars news agency that a software issue was behind the disruption.
“A software problem with the fuel system has been confirmed in some stations across the country and experts are currently fixing the issue,” Navar said.
Navar added that there was no fuel supply shortage but called on drivers to not go to petrol stations.
The oil ministry earlier told state TV that the disruption was not linked to plans to increase the price of fuel, a policy that caused widespread protests in 2019 and led to violent repression.
State TV said petrol stations were seeking to provide fuel manually and that it will take at least 6 to 7 hours to resolve the problems.
Israel has not yet commented about the cyberattack in Iran.
Israel’s Cyber Unit on Monday said Iran and Hezbollah were behind an attempted cyberattack on a hospital in northern Israel about three weeks ago. It said that the attack was thwarted but that the hackers were able to retrieve “some of the sensitive information stored in the hospital’s information systems.”
Israeli-linked hackers disrupt services at petrol stations across Iran
Israeli-linked hackers disrupt services at petrol stations across Iran
- Iran’s state TV news say the Predatory Sparrow group claimed it was behind the disruption
Activist Gaza aid boat slams Israel ‘threat’
ROME: International activists seeking to sail an aid boat to Gaza condemned Wednesday what they called Israel’s threats and “declared intent to attack” their vessel as it crosses the Mediterranean.
Israel’s military said Tuesday it was ready to “protect” the country’s seas, after the vessel — the Madleen, sailed by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition — left Sicily on Sunday carrying around a dozen people, including environmental activist Greta Thunberg.
“The navy operates day and night to protect Israel’s maritime space and borders at sea,” army spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin said.
Asked about the aid vessel, he said: “For this case as well, we are prepared.”
He added: “We have gained experience in recent years, and we will act accordingly.”
In a statement on Wednesday, the activist coalition said it “strongly condemns Israel’s declared intent to attack Madleen,” calling it a “threat.”
“Madleen carries humanitarian aid and international human rights defenders in direct challenge to Israel’s illegal, decades-long blockade, and ongoing genocide” in Gaza, it said.
Israel has come under increasing international criticism over the dire humanitarian situation in the Palestinian territory, where the United Nations warned in May that the entire population was at risk of famine.
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition, launched in 2010, is an international movement supporting Palestinians, combining humanitarian aid with political protest against the blockade on Gaza.
The Madleen is a small sailboat reportedly carrying fruit juices, milk, rice, tinned food and protein bars.
In early May, the Freedom Flotilla ship Conscience was damaged in international waters off Malta as it headed to Gaza, with the activists saying they suspected an Israeli drone attack.
The coalition said that on Tuesday evening, off the coast of the Greek island of Crete, the Madleen “was approached and circled by a drone, followed, several hours later by two additional drones.”
It said it was later informed these were surveillance drones operated by the Greek coast guard, EU border agency Frontex or both.
Israel recently eased a more than two-month blockade on war-ravaged Gaza, but the aid community has urged it to allow in more food, faster.
IAEA head in Damascus to discuss nuclear power
- The IAEA has urged Syria repeatedly to cooperate fully with the agency in connection to a suspected nuclear reactor at the Deir Ezzor desert site
DAMASCUS: UN nuclear watchdog head Rafael Grossi said Wednesday his agency and Syrian authorities would begin “exploring the possibility of nuclear power,” on his first visit to Damascus since the ouster of Bashar Assad.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has repeatedly been at loggerheads with Syria in the past over what it says are “unresolved issues” regarding suspected nuclear activities.
On his visit, the IAEA chief met with Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa and Foreign Minister Asaad Al-Shaibani.
“Honoured to meet Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa in Damascus. I recognize his courage in cooperating with full transparency to close a chapter of Syria’s past that diverted resources necessary for development,” Grossi said in a post on X.
He said the two sides “will also begin exploring the possibility of nuclear power in Syria.”
“Our cooperation is key to closing outstanding issues and focusing on the much needed help IAEA can provide Syria in health and agriculture,” he added.
The IAEA has urged Syria repeatedly to cooperate fully with the agency in connection to a suspected nuclear reactor at the Deir Ezzor desert site.
Israel in 2018 admitted carrying out a top-secret air raid in 2007 against what it said was a nuclear reactor under construction at the site in eastern Syria.
Syria had denied it was building a nuclear reactor.
Grossi visited Damascus in March last year, meeting then president Assad who was overthrown in December after nearly 14 years of civil war.
Grossi told an IAEA Board of Governors meeting in March this year that he had requested Syria’s cooperation to “fulfil our obligation to verify nuclear material and facilities” and to “address unresolved issues.”
“Clarifying these issues remains essential to Syria demonstrating its commitment to nuclear non-proliferation and international peace and security,” he said at the time.
Sudan’s former premier Hamdok says recent military gains won’t end the war
MARRAKECH: Sudan’s former prime minister on Wednesday dismissed the military’s moves to form a new government as “fake,” saying its recent victories in recapturing the capital Khartoum and other territory will not end the country’s two-year civil war.
Abdalla Hamdok said no military victory, in Khartoum or elsewhere, could end the war that has killed tens of thousands and driven millions from their homes.
“Whether Khartoum is captured or not captured, it’s irrelevant,” Hamdok said on the sidelines of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation’s governance conference in Morocco.
“There is no military solution to this. No side will be able to have outright victory.”
Hamdok became Sudan’s first civilian prime minister after decades of military rule in 2019, trying to lead a democratic transition. He resigned in January 2022 after a turbulent stretch in which he was ousted in a coup and briefly reinstated amid international pressure.
The following year, warring generals plunged the country into civil war. Sudan today bears the grim distinction of being home to some of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
Fighting between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces has left at least 24,000 dead, though many believe the true toll is far worse.
Both sides stand accused of war crimes.
The RSF, with roots in Darfur’s notorious Janjaweed militia, has been accused of carrying out genocide. The army is accused of unleashing chemical weapons and targeting civilians where they live.
The war has driven about 13 million people from their homes, including 4 million who have crossed into neighboring countries. Famine is setting in and cholera is sweeping through.
The military recaptured the Khartoum area from the RSF in March, as well as some surrounding territory. Army chief Gen. Abdel-Fattah Al-Burhan has framed the advances as a major turning point in the conflict.
Last month, he appointed a new prime minister, Kamil Al-Taib Idris, for the first time since the war began, tasked with forming a new government. But the fighting has continued.
The RSF has regrouped in its stronghold in Darfur and made advances elsewhere, including in Kordofan.
Hamdok, a 69-year-old former economist who now leads a civilian coalition from exile, called the idea that the conflict was drawing down “total nonsense.” The idea that reconstruction can begin in Khartoum while fighting rages elsewhere is “absolutely ridiculous,” he said.
“Any attempt at creating a government in Sudan today is fake. It is irrelevant,” he said, arguing that lasting peace can’t be secured without addressing the root causes of the war.
Hamdok said a ceasefire and a credible process to restore democratic, civilian rule would need to confront Sudan’s deep inequalities, including uneven development, issues among different identity groups and questions about the role of religion in government.
“Trusting the soldiers to bring democracy is a false pretense,” he added.
Though rooted in longstanding divisions, the war has been supercharged by foreign powers accused of arming both sides.
Pro-democracy groups, including Hamdok’s Somoud coalition, have condemned atrocities committed by both the army and the RSF.
“What we would like to see is anybody who is supplying arms to any side to stop,” he said.
Egypt says the sovereignty of a famous monastery is assured
- Egypt’s foreign minister assured his Greek counterpart that the spiritual and religious value of Saint Catherine Monastery will be preserved
CAIRO: Egypt says the sovereignty of a famous monastery is assured.
Egypt’s foreign minister on Wednesday told his Greek counterpart that the spiritual and religious value of the Saint Catherine Monastery and surrounding archaeological sites will be preserved. That’s according to a statement.
The Greek Orthodox Church had been concerned after an administrative court said the state owns the land but affirmed the monks’ right to use the site.
The Patriarchate of Jerusalem last week expressed concern and said “it is our sacred obligation to ensure that Christian worship continues on this holy ground, as it has done for 17 centuries.” It acknowledged Egypt’s assurances there would be no infringement.
Egypt’s presidency last week said the ruling consolidates the state’s commitment to preserve the monastery’s religious status.
UN calls for probe into Libya mass graves
- UN rights chief ‘shocked’ as dozens of bodies discovered in a section of Libyan capital run by armed militia
GENEVA: The UN human rights office called on Wednesday for an independent investigation into the discovery of mass graves at detention centers in Libya’s capital Tripoli.
It expressed concerns about the discovery of dozens of bodies, some charred and buried and others in hospital refrigerators, in an area of Libya’s capital controlled by an armed militia whose leader was killed last month.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said he was shocked by revelations that gross rights violations were uncovered at detention facilities in Tripoli run by the Stabilization Support Authority, or SSA, an armed group whose commander, Abdel-Ghani Al-Kikli, was killed in militia fighting in mid-May.
It was established to uphold the rule of law and falls under the Presidential Council that came to power in 2021 with the Government of National Unity of Abdul Hamid Dbeibah through a UN-backed process.
The rights office said it later received information on the excavation of 10 charred bodies at the SSA headquarters in the Abu Salim neighborhood and another 67 bodies discovered in refrigerators in the Abu Salim and Al-Khadra Hospitals.
It also cited reports of a burial site at the Tripoli Zoo that was run by the SSA.
The office said the identities of the bodies were not immediately clear. “Our worst-held fears are being confirmed: Dozens of bodies have been discovered at these sites, along with the discovery of suspected instruments of torture and abuse, and potential evidence of extrajudicial killings,” Türk said in a statement.
Türk called on authorities to seal the area to preserve evidence and said there needed to be accountability for the killings. He said the UN should be granted access to the sites to document rights violations.
Libya, a major oil producer in the Mediterranean, has known little law and order since a 2011 NATO-backed uprising that toppled dictator Muammar Qaddafi and eventually divided the country between warring eastern and western factions.
The rights body said the discovery of dozens of bodies and suspected instruments of torture and abuse confirmed longstanding findings by the UN that human rights violations were committed at such sites.
“We call on the Libyan authorities to conduct independent, impartial and transparent investigations into these discoveries,” it said in a statement. It urged the authorities to preserve evidence and grant Libya’s forensic teams, as well as the United Nations, full access to the sites.
Outright war fighting in Libya abated with a ceasefire in 2020. However, efforts to end the political crisis have failed, with major factions occasionally joining forces in armed clashes and competing for control over Libya’s substantial energy resources.
Armed clashes erupted on Monday evening and gunfire echoed in the center and other parts of Tripoli following reports that the commander of one of its most powerful armed groups had been killed, three residents said by phone.
