Cyberattack by US, Israel disrupts fuel distribution in Iran: minister

Iran has said it suffered a cyberattack by Israel and the United States that disrupted fuel distribution across 60 percent of petrol stations.

"Some gas stations across the country suffered a cyber attack and the fuel distribution stopped," Oil Minister Javad Owji told state TV on Monday.

He later said 1,650 petrol stations were operational. The ministry supervises 3,800 petrol stations.

Owji blamed the attack on external powers, saying that since "the Zionist enemy (Israel) and the United States suffered blows on other fronts, they sought to create trouble."

Deputy Oil Minister Jalil Salari earlier said there were problems with the cards Iranians use to buy subsidised petrol.

Iran, a major oil producer, has among the cheapest petrol prices in the world, with a card that allows Iranians to buy up to 60 litres per month at a subsidised rate of around 3 US cents per litre.

Following the system failure, petrol stations "disconnected the online system" and fuel was being supplied offline, Salari said.

Monday's disruption caused long car queues outside some stations in Tehran while others were completely shuttered, according to an AFP correspondent.

Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi called for an investigation and urged "immediate measures" to resolve the crisis.

Authorities formed a "crisis committee" and announced that repairs were underway to fix the fuel distribution system and that pumps would work manually "until further notice".

Shattered economy

Iran suffered a similar week-long disruption in October 2021 which officials blamed on an unprecedented cyber attack by outside actors.

Fuel cards were first introduced in 2007 with a view to reforming the subsidies system and curbing large-scale smuggling.

Iran's economy has been battered both by external pressure and internal mismanagement. In 2018, the US withdrew from a landmark nuclear agreement and reimposed sanctions that had been lifted for a few years.

The government has accused arch-nemesis Israel of a wave of sabotage attacks and assassinations targeting its nuclear programme.

The US and Israel accuse Iran of orchestrating attacks against allied forces and ships in the region.