Iran Reports Cyberattack on Key Port

Shahid Rajaee Port in Bandar Abbas, Iran was targeted in the attacks. (Wikimedia Commons)

Two Iranian government institutions reported cyberattacks by an unknown hacker on October 16. The targets included the country’s Port and Maritime Organization at the Sahid Rajaee port in the coastal city of Bandar Abbas. Abolghasem Sadeghi, from the government’s Information Technology Organization, reported to state TV on Thursday that several government bodies temporarily shut down internet services as a precaution due to the significant threat of the infiltrations to the country’s electronic infrastructure.

Iranian officials claim that Israel carried out the attack in response to an attempt by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard (IRG) to infiltrate Israel’s water facilities. This altercation is the latest development in a long history of fraught relations between the two countries. Just months ago on May 9, a similar attack occurred on the same Iranian port after Iran’s initial targeting of the Israeli water system. While Israel initially decided not to respond, reactions from the Israeli media soon prompted former Israeli Defense Minister Naftali Bennett to target Iranian civilian infrastructure and leak the story to international news media. 

Israeli officials now allege that the attack on the Bandar Abbas port caused minimal damage and some shipping delays. However, Iranian officials assert that the event left the port in “total disarray.” 

 Iran’s shipping and oil industries rely heavily on the Sahid Rajaee port. From March 20 to May 20 alone, the port processed an estimated 8.64 million tons of commodities. The sprawling facility serves as the newest of two major shipping terminals on the Strait of Hormuz, dubbed the “juglar of the world economy.” These cyberattacks come amid Iran’s ongoing dispute with the United States, a key ally of Israel. Sanctions reimposed by President Trump after Washington’s departure from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), or Iran Nuclear Deal, have paralyzed the Iranian economy. As a result of the sanctions, the Iranian rial has plummeted in value, and oil exports have fallen. The price of beef and veal has also risen by 50 percent, and the price of milk has doubled.

While tensions surrounding the hacks have dwindled, the tit-for-tat nature of the contentious Israeli-Iranian relationship will certainly breed more conflict in the near future.