Gas Stations in Iran Resume Work Following Alleged Cyberattack

BEIRUT (Sputnik) - Gas stations in Iran, crippled by an alleged cyberattack on Tuesday, have resumed operations, and the incident did not lead to an increase in fuel prices in the country, Iranian Oil Minister Javad Ovji said on Wednesday.

"Operations at 3,000 gas stations in the country have resumed. We apologize to the population and promise to pay attention to similar situations in the future," the minister said, as aired on a state-run broadcaster.

Ovji assured that the "rumors" about the rise in fuel prices following the incident do not correspond to reality, adding that the Iranian government did not even consider the issue of raising prices at all.

Iranian state television reported on Tuesday that gas stations were malfunctioning across the country as a result of the cyberattack.

Secretary of the Supreme Council of Cyberspace, Abolhassan Firouzabadi, did not rule out that the attack was carried out from outside the country, adding that the recent attack has similarities with the one on Iran's railway company in July.

Iran has repeatedly come under so-called state-sponsored cyberattacks. In July, hundreds of railway services in Iran were delayed or canceled as a result of the attack on the management systems of the state railway company, according to Iranian media. In April, the Iranian Natanz nuclear plant suffered an accident involving electricity distribution, which the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran described as "nuclear terrorism" and cyberattack carried out by Israel's foreign intelligence service.