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Iran Faced Massive Foreign-Backed Cyberattacks in Past Few Months, Foreign Ministry Says

TEHRAN (Sputnik) - Iran has faced several large-scale cyberattacks in recent months sponsored by foreign governments and Tehran preserves the right to properly respond to these hostile acts, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said on Thursday.
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"Thousands of cyberattacks are launched against the country’s infrastructure on a daily basis, which is not anything new. Most of those attacks are repulsed by our defence systems ... without making any impact. Over the past recent months, a couple of cyberattacks on a broader scale have been also launched against the country’s infrastructure, as with the analysis of the dimensions and the technology used [in the attacks], one can say they have been sponsored or launched by governments", Mousavi said in a statement.

Mousavi also refuted claims that the recent fires and acts of sabotage had been caused by those cyberattacks.

"No, the recent fires have had nothing to do with the cyberattacks", the spokesman said.

He added that Tehran will consider the US government to be responsible for any cyberattack against the country given the current hostile rhetoric.

Over the past few weeks a series of fires and explosions have hit sensitive Iranian facilities, causing deaths and injuries. In early July, a blaze swept through a uranium enrichment facility in Natanz, and a blast followed by a fire was reported at a gas storage tank near a military site east of Tehran on 26 June. In mid-July, a fire broke out at a plant producing liquefied natural gas in the northeastern Iranian city of Fariman.

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