Iran has formally rejected French accusations over the cyber-attacks that disrupted supermarket fridges and freezers. The denial puts France and Iran in open dispute while France continues both a diplomatic response and a Paris investigation into a cyber unit associated with Iran’s Revolutionary Guards.
Iran’s foreign ministry described the accusations as “baseless and hostile”, the BBC reported. On Monday, French authorities attributed the attacks to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said those responsible would face sanctions and that Iran’s ambassador in Paris had been summoned.
The incident has moved well beyond a retail systems failure. According to the BBC, hackers took control on 11 October of temperature-control software used by many French supermarkets. More than 100 Coopérative U supermarkets and 180 Intermarché and Netto stores were affected; Carrefour, Monoprix and E.Leclerc were also among retailers hit. Chilled and frozen food had to be destroyed.
Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said an investigation was opened into the head of Shahid Kaveh, an offensive cyber unit associated with the IRGC, and two deputies. That judicial process is separate from France’s diplomatic attribution, even though both concern the same alleged operation.
France has reason to treat suspected interference with food refrigeration as a serious public-interest matter: a remotely managed everyday system became a possible sabotage target. But the state attribution remains contested by Tehran. The French government has not publicly set out the technical method behind its attribution, and cyber attribution is inherently difficult. The supplied reporting also does not show sanctions already being formally adopted by France or the EU.
Sources
- BBC Europe — France coverage · Source date: 2026-11-10
Independent editorial content. WUA is not affiliated with any political party. 2026-11-10
France’s supermarket-fridge cyberattack accusation against Iran moves toward EU action