Iran categorically denied the French accusations, calling the claims \u2018baseless\u2019.<\/p>\n
France says it has summoned Iran\u2019s ambassador to Paris \u201cto lodge a very strong protest\u201d after it accused Tehran of carrying out a major cyberattack targeting supermarket fridges last month.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt marks the first large-scale cyberattack aimed at sabotage on our national territory, and it constitutes a major attack on the nation\u2019s interests and the security of the French people,\u201d Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
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\u201cI can also tell you that we rule nothing out and will take all measures \u2013 including those we may not disclose publicly \u2013 that we deem proportionate and necessary to deter any further attacks,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Barrot, speaking on France Info \u200c\u200c\u200c\u200ctelevision, said the government would push for European Union sanctions in response to what he called an \u201cattack of unprecedented scale and aggression in our country\u201d.<\/p>\n
He said firm measures would be taken \u201cto deter anyone who might be tempted, in Iran or elsewhere, to do it again\u201d.<\/p>\n
On Monday, Barrot said Iran\u2019s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) was behind cyberattacks targeting more than 700 French supermarkets on October 11 and 12, when refrigerators were remotely accessed \u201cto initiate abnormal, indefinite defrost cycles\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u2018Baseless\u2019 claims<\/p>\n
Iran categorically denied the French accusations on Tuesday, calling the claims \u201cbaseless\u201d.<\/p>\n
The country\u2019s Foreign Ministry said it rejects the \u201cone-sided accusations against Iran regarding alleged cyber activities in France\u201d in a statement and condemned the \u201chackneyed policy of levelling accusations against the Islamic republic\u201d.<\/p>\n
Raised temperatures in fridges forced the supermarkets to throw away all perishable food. Millions of euros\u2019 worth of food was spoiled, according to retailers. In some cases, the raised temperatures sparked fires or melted equipment.<\/p>\n
French supermarket groups E-Leclerc, Intermarche, Carrefour, Monoprix and Cooperative U were all hit.<\/p>\n
Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said on Monday she had opened an investigation into Shahid Kaveh, a cyber unit of the IRGC, over the attacks. The prosecutor\u2019s office has requested international arrest warrants be issued for two Shahid Kaveh officials.<\/p>\n
Relations between Paris and Tehran have been strained<\/a> over Iran\u2019s nuclear and ballistic missile programmes but recently deteriorated in August after Iran arrested and \u200c\u200clater expelled \u200c\u200ctwo French diplomats. France responded by expelling Iranian diplomats.<\/p>\n
![\"Boxes](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/2026-10-13T095154Z_242346048_RC282OAMTHJT_RTRMADP_3_FRANCE-CYBERATTACK-1794301273.jpg\")
Boxes of perished goods outside an Intermarche supermarket after a cyberattack targeted refrigeration systems on October 13, 2026 [Lucien Libert\/Reuters]<\/p>\n