France blames Iran for cyberattacks on supermarket freezers

Several European countries recently reported cyber attacks on supermarket freezers. The French Foreign Minister is now blaming the Iranian Revolutionary Guard for the incidents in France

Hacked supermarket freezers France blames Iran for cyber attacks As of: November 9, 2026 • 6:51 p.m

There had recently been cyber attacks on supermarket refrigeration systems in several European countries - Russia was considered the possible perpetrator. The French foreign minister now blamed Iran for the incidents in France.

The French government has blamed the Iranian Revolutionary Guard for cyber attacks on refrigeration plants in France. Thanks to the efforts of state authorities, he was able to confirm "that responsibility for this attack lies with the Revolutionary Guard of the Islamic Republic of Iran," said French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot.

He spoke of an attack “of unprecedented scale and unprecedented aggressiveness.” The Iranian ambassador to France was summoned "to protest very vigorously against this extremely serious act."

The French investigation revealed a pattern characteristic of Iranian cyberattacks, said Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau. This involves the use of the Persian language Farsi and IP addresses that point to devices in Iran.

After the hacking attacks on supermarket cooling systems, experts are warning of further attacks. more

The cyber attacks affected a total of 700 locations in France in mid-October. "This is the first large-scale cyberattack for sabotage purposes on French territory and represents a serious breach of the interests of the nation and the security of the French people," Barrot continued.

Therefore the act will not remain without consequences. "We will impose sanctions at European level against all those responsible for this attack." And "all further appropriate and necessary measures" would be taken to respond to this attack "and to deter those who would wish to repeat it."

In Bavaria it hit a butcher's shop, and in France it hit a particularly sensitive area: the blood donation service. more

In addition to France, other European countries have been hit by cyber attacks on refrigeration and freezing systems since mid-October, including Germany. Attackers remotely caused the temperature in refrigerators and freezers to rise, causing goods to spoil. Large amounts of food had to be thrown away.

At the beginning of November, the French blood bank was also the target of such an attack. According to US media, several incidents are also being investigated in the United States. The EU Commission called a crisis meeting.

Sabotage of cooling systems: Paris sees Iranian Revolutionary Guard behind attacks tagesschau, Das Erste, November 9th, 2026 • 8:00 p.m. France is the first to name those responsible France is now the first country to name who it holds responsible for the attacks. The German security authorities have not yet made a decision. According to ARD correspondent Michael Strempel, Germany's Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said he had no own knowledge about it. But he takes the statements of his French counterpart very seriously.

There were previously suspicions that these could be so-called hybrid attacks from the Russian side. The French minister did not say whether Iran could be behind all the attacks outside France.