Oil Minister Calls Fuel Station Hack a 'Conspiracy'; Fueling Still Disrupted

While reports from the public in Iran indicate disruptions in the fueling process and that the issues arising from the hacking of the country's fuel distribution system have not been fully resolved, the Oil Minister claimed that this action was a 'conspiracy by the enemy' that failed due to 'Jihadi work.' Javad Owji stated today, Wednesday, December 20, during a cabinet meeting that 'we neutralized this conspiracy in the early hours.' While Owji claimed that the fuel card system was operational in 88% of stations, reports show that as of Wednesday morning, fueling with fuel cards was not possible at many stations. The Oil Minister asserted that 'they wanted' to anger the people, but 'due to the Jihadi work we did, many did not realize this.' This claim comes despite the fact that with the halt of fuel distribution in the country, all fuel stations were taken offline, disrupting daily life. Long queues formed at stations, and the price of free gasoline reached 10,000 to 35,000 tomans per liter, which the public faced. The Tasnim news agency, affiliated with security institutions, also refuted Javad Owji's claim, stating that 48 hours after the cyber attack on the smart fuel system, there are still stations operating offline with gasoline priced at 3,000 tomans. The Kayhan newspaper, managed by Hossein Shariatmadari, criticized the publication of news about the cyber attack on gas stations, claiming that 'this hack should not have been made public.' This request from Kayhan comes at a time when the consequences of the halt in fuel distribution and the hack did not need to be communicated, as people across the country were grappling with it. Reactions to the hacking of gas stations in Iran; effective cyber attacks are 'out of control.' The Ministry of Oil: All fuel stations have been activated; users: fuel cards are still inactive in many areas. The consequences of the hacking of fuel stations continue; free gasoline has reached 35,000 tomans. Nationwide disruptions followed cyber attacks on gas stations; 'The Ravenous Sparrow' claimed responsibility for these attacks.