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Israel-Linked Hackers Claim Cyberattack That Shuts Down 70% of Iran’s Gas Stations
People wait at a gas station during gas station disruption in Tehran, Iran, Dec. 18, 2023. Photo: Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
A hacking group that has been linked to Israel on Monday claimed responsibility for a cyberattack that paralyzed the majority of gas stations across Iran.
More than 70 percent of gas stations in Iran were knocked out due to service disruptions, the country’s Oil Minister Javad Owji confirmed to Iranian state TV.
A group known as “Gonjeshke Darande,” or “predatory sparrow” in Farsi, announced it was behind the attack in a post on X/Twitter.
“We, Gonjeshke Darande, carried out another cyberattack today, taking out a majority of the gas pumps throughout Iran,” the hackers wrote. “This cyberattack comes in response to the aggression of the Islamic Republic and its proxies in the region.”
Pointing the finger at Iran’s so-called “supreme leader,” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the group added, “Khamenei, playing with fire has a price. A month ago we warned you that we’re back and that we will impose cost for your provocations. This is just a taste of what we have in store.”
(1/2) We, Gonjeshke Darande, carried out another cyberattack today, taking out a majority of the gas pumps throughout Iran. This cyberattack comes in response to the aggression of the Islamic Republic and its proxies in the region.
Khamenei, playing with fire has a price.
— Gonjeshke Darande (@darandegonjeshk) December 18, 2023
The hacker group is suspected to be of Israeli origin and reportedly linked to Israel’s Military Intelligence Directorate, although it is difficult to pinpoint with definite certainty the source of such cyberattacks. It has previously claimed responsibility for targeting the Iranian state-owned Khuzestan Steel Co. to halt production, as well as several Iranian gas stations.
According to Iranian state media, “the reason for the disruption in fuel distribution is a cyber attack by Israel and the USA, after their losses on the other fronts.”
In a second statement published on Telegram, Gonjeshke Darande said Monday’s cyberattack “was conducted in a controlled manner while taking measures to limit potential damage to emergency services.”
“We delivered warnings to emergency services across the country before the operation began, and ensured a portion of the gas stations across the country were left unharmed for the same reason, despite our access and capability to completely disrupt their operation,” the group wrote.
On the same day, meanwhile, Israel’s National Cyber Agency announced that an attempted cyberattack on the Ziv Medical Center in northern Israel last month was carried out by Iranian and Hezbollah hackers. According to the cyber agency, a joint investigation was conducted alongside the Shin Bet security agency and the Israel Defense Forces that confirmed the failed attack on the hospital was perpetrated by the Iranian Intelligence Ministry in coordination with the Iran-backed terror group Hezbollah, which is based in Lebanon.
The statement said that while the hackers’ goal of disrupting hospital activities failed, “the group was found to have stolen some of the sensitive information stored in the hospital’s systems.”
Israel has allegedly carried out several cyber attacks against Iran, which US intelligence agencies frequently call the world’s foremost state sponsor of terrorism. Iran is the main international sponsor of Hamas, the Palestinian terror group that carried out the Oct. 7 massacre across southern Israel, launching the current war in Gaza.
One of the most notable cyberattacks said to involve Israel was the Stuxnet program, an alleged joint project of Jerusalem and Washington, DC that destroyed major parts of the Natanz nuclear facility in Iran. The attack heavily hampered the country’s nuclear program, which many experts and governments say is designed to build nuclear weapons.
The post Israel-Linked Hackers Claim Cyberattack That Shuts Down 70% of Iran’s Gas Stations first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Rubio Heads to Israel Amid Tensions Among US Middle East Allies
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks to members of the media, before departing for Israel at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, US, September 13, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Nathan Howard/Pool
US President Donald Trump’s top diplomat, Marco Rubio headed to Israel on Saturday, amid tensions with fellow US allies in the Middle East over Israel’s strike on Hamas leaders in Qatar and expansion of settlements in the West Bank.
Speaking to reporters before departure, Rubio reiterated that the US and President Donald Trump were not happy about the strikes.
Rubio said the US relationship with Israel would not be affected, but that he would discuss with the Israelis how the strike would affect Trump’s desire to secure the return of all the hostages held by Hamas, get rid of the terrorists and end the Gaza war.
“What’s happened, has happened,” he said. “We’re gonna meet with them. We’re gonna talk about what the future holds,” he said.
“There are still 48 hostages that deserve to be released immediately, all at once. And there is still the hard work ahead once this ends, of rebuilding Gaza in a way that provides people the quality of life that they all want.”
Rubio said it had yet to be determined who would do that, who would pay for it and who would be in charge of the process.
After Israel, Rubio is due to join Trump’s planned visit to Britain next week.
Hamas still holds 48 hostages, and Qatar has been one of the mediators, along with the US, trying to secure a ceasefire deal that would include the captives’ release.
On Tuesday, Israel attempted to kill the political leaders of Hamas with an airstrike on Doha. US officials described it as a unilateral escalation that did not serve American or Israeli interests.
The strike on the territory of a close US ally sparked broad condemnation from other Arab states and derailed ceasefire and hostage talks brokered by Qatar.
On Friday, Rubio met with Qatar’s Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani at the White House, underscoring competing interests in the region that Rubio will seek to balance on his trip. Later that day, US President Donald Trump held dinner with the prime minister in New York.
Rubio’s trip comes ahead of high-level meetings at the United Nations in New York later this month. Countries including France and Britain are expected to recognize Palestinian statehood, a move opposed by Israel.
Washington says such recognition would bolster Hamas and Rubio has suggested the move could spur the annexation of the West Bank sought by hardline members of the Israeli government.
ON Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signed an agreement to push ahead with a settlement expansion plan that would cut across West Bank land that the Palestinians seek for a state. Last week, the United Arab Emirates warned that this would cross a red line and undermine the U.S.-brokered Abraham Accords that normalized UAE-Israel relations in 2020.
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Netanyahu Posts Message Appearing to Confirm Hamas Leaders Survived Doha Strike
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a Plenum session of the Knesset, Israel’s Parliament, in Jerusalem, June 11, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
i24 News – In a statement posted to social media on Saturday evening, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the Qatar-based leadership of Hamas, reiterating that the jihadist group had to regard for the lives of Gazans and represented an obstacle to ending the war and releasing the Israelis it held hostage.
The wording of Netanyahu’s message appeared to confirm that the strike targeting the Hamas leaders in Doha was not crowned with success.
“The Hamas terrorists chiefs living in Qatar don’t care about the people in Gaza,” wrote Netanyahu. “They blocked all ceasefire attempts in order to endlessly drag out the war.” He added that “Getting rid of them would rid the main obstacle to releasing all our hostages and ending the war.”
Israel is yet to officially comment on the result of the strike, which has incurred widespread international criticism.
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Trump Hosts Qatari Prime Minister After Israeli Attack in Doha
Qatar’s Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani attends an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council, following an Israeli attack on Hamas leaders in Doha, Qatar, at UN headquarters in New York City, US, Sept. 11, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz
US President Donald Trump held dinner with the Qatari prime minister in New York on Friday, days after US ally Israel attacked Hamas leaders in Doha.
Israel attempted to kill the political leaders of Hamas with an attack in Qatar on Tuesday, a strike that risked derailing US-backed efforts to broker a truce in Gaza and end the nearly two-year-old conflict. The attack was widely condemned in the Middle East and beyond as an act that could escalate tensions in a region already on edge.
Trump expressed annoyance about the strike in a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and sought to assure the Qataris that such attacks would not happen again.
Trump and Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani were joined by a top Trump adviser, US special envoy Steve Witkoff.
“Great dinner with POTUS. Just ended,” Qatar’s deputy chief of mission, Hamah Al-Muftah, said on X.
The White House confirmed the dinner had taken place but offered no details.
The session followed an hour-long meeting that al-Thani had at the White House on Friday with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
A source briefed on the meeting said they discussed Qatar’s future as a mediator in the region and defense cooperation in the wake of the Israeli strikes against Hamas in Doha.
Trump said he was unhappy with Israel’s strike, which he described as a unilateral action that did not advance US or Israeli interests.
Washington counts Qatar as a strong Gulf ally. Qatar has been a main mediator in long-running negotiations for a ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza, for the release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza and for a post-conflict plan for the territory.
Al-Thani blamed Israel on Tuesday for trying to sabotage chances for peace but said Qatar would not be deterred from its role as mediator.