Albania accuses Iran of cyber attack and breaks diplomatic ties with Tehran
Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, June 23, 2022 in Brussels.
AFP - KENZO TRIBOUILLARD
Text by: RFI Follow
3 mins
Albania severed its relations with Iran on Wednesday, September 7, accused of having perpetrated massive cyberattacks during the summer.
Washington has promised that Iran will be held accountable for targeting its Balkan NATO ally.
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Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama announced in a statement that “
the Council of Ministers has decided to sever diplomatic relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran with immediate effect
”.
The Iranian Embassy in Tirana has received an official notification requiring that all of its diplomatic, technical, administrative and security personnel leave the territory within 24 hours.
Edi Rama
accused Iran of being behind a "
heavy cyberattack against the Albanian government's digital infrastructure aimed at destroying them
" on July 15.
"
An in-depth investigation has provided us with indisputable proof
" that it had been "
orchestrated and sponsored
" by Tehran, he adds.
“
The attack in question
failed,” he said.
“
The damage can be considered minimal in relation to the goals of the aggressor.
All systems became fully operational again and there was no irreversible erasure of data
.”
Refuge of Iranian opponents
Following this announcement, Washington protested against the attack and promised its support for the small Balkan country.
"
The United States strongly condemns Iran's cyber attack on our NATO ally Albania
," National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson wrote in a statement.
Washington "
will take additional steps to hold Iran accountable for actions that threaten the security of a US ally and set a disturbing precedent
," she said.
After decades of isolation on the international scene under the dictatorship of Enver Hoxha, Albania resolutely turned towards the West after the fall of the communist regime in the early 1990s, joining NATO in 2009 and applying for membership of the European Union.
Since 2013, Albania has welcomed on its soil, at the request of Washington and the UN, members of the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI), a movement in exile banned in Iran and fierce opponents of the regime. Iranian.
The mujahideen regularly organize summits in the city they built not far from Tirana and which hosts around 3,000 people.
But this year, the meeting scheduled for July had been postponed by the PMOI “ for
unspecified
security reasons ”.
The summit was postponed "
on the recommendation of the Albanian government for security reasons, and due to terrorist threats and conspiracies
", the PMOI said.
Four Iranian diplomats expelled since 2018
A month earlier, former US Vice President Mike Pence had been welcomed by the group of opponents in their brand new city created
ex-nihilo
called Ashraf 3.
The PMOI supported Ayatollah Khomeini during the 1979 revolution that overthrew the Shah of Iran.
But the group had been declared outlaw by Tehran in 1981, the year it was accused of a bomb attack that killed 74 people, including the number two of the regime.
The mujahideen have never claimed responsibility for this attack, unlike others.
This is not the first time that Tirana has had trouble with Iran.
Since December 2018, four Iranian diplomats in Tirana, including the ambassador, have been expelled by Albania, accused
of "activities harmful to national security
".
Iranian opponents had, for their part, accused them of being "
Iranian secret service agents endangering their lives in Albania
".
(
With AFP
)
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