Iranian government ministry becomes the latest target of cyber attackers

Iran’s Transport Ministry website was hit by “cyber disruption” at the weekend, hours after a similar interruption at the state railway company.

The ministry’s website was inaccessible yesterday, a day after state TV said the computer systems at the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development were put offline by an attack.

Train services were disrupted on Friday, with hackers posting fake delay notices on station boards, state-affiliated news outlets said.

The government-run railway company said only the displays were affected and that trains ran normally, but Fars news agency reported “unprecedented chaos” at stations with hundreds of trains delayed or cancelled.

The Fars report, which was later deleted, included photos of station departure boards showing rows of cancelled trips with a message reading “long delays due to cyber attacks”.

Telecoms Minister Mohammad Azari-Jahromi on Saturday warned of ransomware attacks unless vulnerability in computer systems was dealt with, Iranian news outlets said.

Last year, Iran said hackers mounted large-scale attacks on two of its government institutions, without giving details on the targets or the suspected perpetrators.

Iran says it is on high alert for online assaults, which it has blamed on the US and Israel.

The US and other western powers have accused Iran of trying to disrupt and penetrate their networks.

On Saturday, state TV reported that a loud noise heard across north Tehran that morning was a stun grenade detonating in a park.

The grenade – a device which explodes with bright light and a loud sound – had been set up to go off in the park near an adjoining hospital building, a reporter said.

The report said no one was injured and it was not known who set the grenade off or why.

Tehran deputy governor Hamid Reza Goudarzi, who is in charge of security, visited the scene.

“Just one explosion took place inside Mellat Park,” he told the Tasnim news agency.

“We are investigating the dimensions and causes of the incident and we will provide information after we are sure,” he said.

Attacks are rare in Iran, but a number of military and nuclear sites have been targeted in recent years.

Iran has accused Israel of attacking facilities and assassinating scientists linked to its nuclear programme.

Israel has neither denied nor confirmed the allegations.

At the weekend, Iranian government exiles rallied in Germany and elsewhere to demand the prosecution of the newly elected President Ebrahim Raisi for crimes against humanity.

Demonstrators rallied at Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate and other locations as part of a Free

Iran World Summit that featured speeches by former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo and Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa.

Maryam Rajavi, president-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, accused Mr Raisi of being the “henchman” responsible for the killing of 30,000 political prisoners in 1988.

Iran has not acknowledged the executions, and Mr Raisi has never publicly addressed allegations about his role.

The council and its largest component, the People’s Mujahideen of Iran (MEK), were previously listed as terrorist groups by the US, while the EU categorised the MEK as a banned entity.

The US and the EU have removed the council and the MEK from the list of banned groups.

While hackers turned up pressure on Iranian infrastructure, regime opponents staged rallies in Berlin