France Blames Iranian Military for Supermarket and Blood Bank Cyber Attacks

France accused the Iranian military of orchestrating malicious cyber operations that manipulated refrigeration systems in numerous grocery stores and medical storage facilities across Europe last month.

The intrusions occurred on October 11 and 12, affecting hundreds of retail locations and destroying perishable goods valued at millions of euros before a subsequent wave hit more than 100 establishments this month.

The incidents represent a serious security challenge involving critical infrastructure vulnerabilities, as connected industrial cooling units running on aging software face remote exploitation risks.

Speaking at a news conference in the French capital on Monday, the foreign minister assigned direct blame for the disruptions.

"I can confirm that this attack was carried out by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of the Islamic Republic of Iran," said Jean-Noël Barrot, the French foreign minister.

Barrot added that the operation carried immense hostility.

"This attack is unprecedented in both its scale and its level of aggression," said Barrot.

The government intends to press for retaliatory measures across the continent.

"We will implement sanctions at the European level against all those responsible for this attack," said Barrot.

Officials also stated that French judicial authorities opened an inquiry targeting the head of an offensive digital warfare unit linked to the foreign military.

While grocery stores suffered major inventory losses, medical blood banks targeted in the second wave managed to relocate their supplies before any spoilage occurred.

Accounts differed regarding the scope of international fallout, with some sources mentioning potential U.S. inquiries into military base refrigerators while other outlets focused strictly on European commercial centers.

Iranian representatives did not provide an immediate response to the accusations, though officials in Tehran traditionally deny involvement in foreign digital interference.

Diplomatic tensions will likely escalate further as investigators determine the full extent of the electronic breaches and whether additional countries were compromised.