France requests arrest warrants for Iranian suspects over supermarket cyberattack

The attacks on French supermarkets took place overnight on 11 October and affected refrigeration systems at roughly 700 sites across the country.

Hackers allegedly altered the fridges' defrost settings, causing temperatures to rise, food to spoil and at least 15 fires to break out.

Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said investigators have opened a formal inquiry into Shahid Kaveh, a group of hackers France's Foreign Ministry says is linked to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

The investigation targets its alleged leader and two deputies, and the prosecutor's office has requested international arrest warrants for all three men: Hamid Reza Lashgarian, Mahdi Lashgarian and Reza Salarvand.

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Front groups

French authorities identified the prime suspect, Hamid Reza Lashgarian, as head of the IRGC's Electronic and Cyber Centre, and Mahdi Lashgarian and Salarvand as commanders of the Shahid Kaveh unit.

France says the unit operated through front groups, including CyberAveng3rs and Cyber Isnaad Front.

Investigators say the evidence in the case includes Farsi language traces in the attack infrastructure and internet addresses linked to devices in Iran.

The Paris prosecutor's office says it is being investigated as organised cybercrime committed to serve the interests of a foreign power, namely Iran.

France threatens consequences for Iran after linking it to supermarket cyberattacks

Iranian response

Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot called the operation “unprecedented in both its scale and its level of aggression”.

France has summoned Iran's ambassador and is seeking European sanctions against those responsible.

Iran's Foreign Ministry said in a statement on 10 November that it “categorically rejects” France's “baseless and malicious accusations” against Tehran.

It accused Paris of trying to divert attention from its own policies in the Middle East and described the allegations as part of a “discredited policy” of blaming Iran.

In a post on social media, Iran's Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi mocked France, saying that "unable to manage fridges let alone addressing grievances of its people, the French government is shifting blame for its failures on to others".

(with newswires)