Hossein Jaberi Ansari made the remarks in reaction to an indictment of seven Iranian hackers by the US Justice Department on Thursday. The Iranian hackers are charged with coordinating a campaign of cyber attacks on dozens of American banks and a dam in New York state from 2011 to 2013.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran has itself borne the brunt of many sophisticated cyberattacks backed by certain countries and as such, has always been at the forefront of collective international efforts to tackle cybercrime,” the Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman said on Saturday.
He went on to add that Iran has always highlighted the necessity for regulating the cyberspace under the monitoring of all states.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran has never had on agenda any precarious measures in cyberspace and does not back such moves,” he said.
Jaberi Ansari went on to add, “the United States, with its history of cyberattacks against Iran’s peaceful nuclear facilities in which it had endangered the lives of millions of innocent people with the threat of an environmental disaster, is in no position to accuse the citizens of other countries including Iran without providing documentary evidence.”
In June 2010, the US with the help of Israel carried out the most sophisticated cyber-attack ever known against Iran to sabotage the country’s civilian nuclear program. In that attack, Iran’s nuclear facility in Natanz was the target of the Stuxnet virus in what has become the most serious case of state cyber-terrorism because of its complexity and sabotage of sensitive properties.
Also in May 2015, head of the Iranian Cyber Police said Iran had foiled a hacking attack on its Ministry of Petroleum, which originated from the US.
Following the attacks, Iran set up a unit called Passive Defense Organization that primarily deals with countering sabotage, including cyber terrorism.
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