Iran-Linked Hackers Target Albanian Parliament
Albania's Parliament has reported a cyberattack in which Iran-based hackers attempted access to its data server, seeking to erase critical information.
Albania's Parliament has reported a cyberattack in which Iran-based hackers attempted access to its data server, seeking to erase critical information.
A statement said Monday’s cyberattack, which temporarily halted parliament’s operations, had not “touched the data of the system.” The Associated Press cited local media as reporting that a cellphone provider and an air flight company were also targeted by cyberattacks Monday from “Iranian-based hackers called Homeland Justice.”
In the announcement published on the Telegram account of the group, 'Homeland Justice' claims to have deleted more than 2 petabytes of data of the telecommunications network and the internal network of all connected companies.
Iran International cannot independently verify if the hacker group is affiliated with Iran, but Albania has a history of being caught in the crossfire between the Islamic Republic and the Iranian exiled opposition group Mujahedeen-e-Khalq (MEK), currently based in Manza, an Albanian city near Durrës. In an X post after the parliament cyberattack, the hacker group called to “Destroy Durres Military Camp.”
In July 2022, Albania suffered a cyberattack that the government and multinational technology companies blamed on hackers linked to the Iranian Foreign Ministry. Believed to be in retaliation for Albania sheltering members of the MEK, the attack prompted the government to cut diplomatic relations with Iran two months later.
In June, the Albanian State Police, on the orders of the Special Court, raided the MEK camp, resulting in clashes between its residents and security forces. The police confiscated a large number of electronic and storage devices allegedly linked to prohibited political activities.Iran said earlier in the year that the storage devices were handed over to Tehran, but Albania denied the claim.
In one of their statements, the hacker group said, “Ignoring our 'humanitarian warnings cost your corrupt politicians all this. But don’t be fooled. This will continue until we completely clear the country of terrorists,” an apparent reference to the MEK. The group was on the US Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) list until 2012.
In recent years, MEK-affiliated hacktivist group ‘Uprising till Overthrow’ has breached hundreds of websites and servers belonging to the Iranian government such the office of the president and the foreign ministry, releasing troves of classified documents. In June 2022, it hacked over 5,000 security cameras of state bodies and 150 websites belonging to Tehran Municipality. The hack came after another cyberassault in March on the portal of the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance (Ershad) and its affiliated websites. The attackers posted messages calling for the death of the country’s supreme leader.
MEK, a revolutionary organization with a Marxist-Islamist ideology emerged before the Iranian revolution in 1979 and for a time supported the new Islamist government in Tehran. But soon the ruling clerics decided they would not tolerate leftists and other organizations remaining active and launched bloody repression. MEK was exiled and many found refuge in Iraq under Saddam Hussein who helped them continue their fight against the government in Tehran. Since 2013, some 2,500 of the MEK members are sheltered in Albania, where they are not supposed to engage in any political activity and must abide by the country’s laws.
Amid mounting pressure from social media users, prominent political figures, including individuals with close ties to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, such as Ali Akbar Velayati, his senior foreign policy adviser, and Hossein Shariatmadari, his representative at the Kayhan newspaper, have raised objections to Russia's humiliating stance.
Meanwhile, banners and posters have been prominently displayed around the Russian Embassy in Tehran, boldly proclaiming that all the 88 million Iranian citizens are the residents of Abu Musa, the largest of the three islands claimed by the United Arab Emirates. Some social media users emphasized that President Ebrahim Raisi should visit Abu Musa to reassert Iran's ownership of the island. Some others alleged that there is a UAE military post on Abu Musa where the Emirate's flag is hoisted every morning. They even posted a video on Threads to prove what they said.
Shariatmadari, the editor of hardline Daily asked in an editorial: "What can Russia and Arab statement on the three islands be called other than hypocrisy and double standards in foreign policy?" Shariatmadari further addressed Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and said: "Mr. Lavrov! Your error has the color of treason." He further demanded an apology from Lavrov and stressed that such an apology should be made immediately and publicly.
The Iranian public regards Shariatmadari’s statements as reflecting the views of Khamenei and his senior aides.
Russia’s action in siding with the Arab claim is also humiliating for Khamenei, who has shown a particular affinity for Moscow and President Vladimir Putin. He has been insisting that Iran’s best interests lie with close ties with Russia and China, while shunning opportunities to improve ties with the West.
This comes while the Raisi administration-owned newspaper, Iran, was the only newspaper that tried to minimize the importance of Russia's stance by arguing that although Iran and Russia are partners, they are not strategic allies.
Shahryar Heidari, a member of the Majles Foreign Relations Committee also demanded an apology from Moscow and said "otherwise, we will re-consider our relations with Russia."
The Foreign Ministry, which initially released a statement dismissing the Arab states' claims and condemning Russia's humiliating stance, later summoned the Russian ambassador in Tehran and formally presented a note of protest regarding Russia's involvement in the statement. This action was prompted by mounting pressure from social media and public sentiment.
The former chairman of the Iranian parliament's Foreign Relations Committee Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh accused the Foreign Ministry of naivety and said: "When the Iranian President's entourage counted the steps of the Kremlin during a recent visit to Moscow, Russian President Vladimir] Putin's agents were preparing the draft of an anti-Iranian statement in Abu Dhabi. This is a new example of naivety in Iran's foreign policy."
Falahatpisheh's successor, Vahid Jalalzadeh, has called for a reciprocal response to Russia's stance by raising the issue of the Kuril Islands, which are disputed in terms of Russian ownership by Japan. This suggestion mirrors the one made by Khamenei's adviser, Kamal Kharrazi, back in September when Russia took a similar stance during a GCC meeting.
Meanwhile, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nasser Kanaani told the press in Tehran that his office has objected to Russia and protested Moscow's undermining of Iran's territorial integrity.
In another development former Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif reiterated that "it was a mistake by the Islamic Republic of Iran to give concessions to Russia," and that "we cannot expect the same kind of behavior from Russia as Moscow will never endanger its own interests for Iran".
In the meantime, Iranians continue to leave angry comments under social media posts and articles on websites about the issue. Under an article in conservative Alef website, readers said: "Russia has been backstabbing Iran for several hundred years now." They also reminded that "There are no permanent alliances. What is important is our national interests."
On Instagram, a user said: "You should expect such political behavior when you tie all of the country's national interests to one particular country from whose friendship Iran has never benefitted." Another user reminded the Foreign Ministry that it should defend the interests of Iran rather than Yemen and Palestine."
Iran has "increased its production of highly enriched uranium, reversing a previous output reduction from mid-2023", the International Atomic Energy Agency said in a statement summarizing a confidential report to member states seen by Reuters Tuesday.
According to the IAEA report, Iran is enriching to up to 60% at its Pilot Fuel Enrichment Plant (PFEP) in its sprawling Natanz complex and at its Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant (FFEP), which is dug into a mountain.
"The Agency confirms that, since the end of November 2023, the rate at which Iran has been producing uranium enriched up to 60% U-235 at these two facilities combined has increased to approximately 9 kg per month," the report to member states said.
By the IAEA's theoretical definition, around 42 kg of uranium enriched to 60% is the amount at which making a nuclear bomb with it cannot be excluded. Iran already has enough uranium enriched to up to 60%, if enriched further, to make three nuclear bombs.
Earlier in the year, there were several reports that Iran's stockpile of uranium enriched to up to 60-percent purity, close to the roughly 90% of weapons grade, continued to increase albeit at a slower pace. The slowdown, which had reportedly begun by June, was seen as the result of secret talks between the United States and Iran that led to the release of US citizens held in Iran earlier this year.
Now that the Islamic Republic is internationally rebuked for the increased attacks on US and Israeli targets by its proxies across the Middle East, the IAEA has also become a little more vocal about Iran’s nuclear program. Several Iran-backed militia groups have increased attacks on US and Israeli targets across the region as well as international shipping as part of their attempts to pressure Israel, which has been at war with Hamas, another Iran-backed militia in Gaza.
IAEA inspectors first observed a change in production at Fordow on November 25, after which Iran said the change was made on November 22, and that the rate of production was returning to the pre-slowdown level there, the report said. Inspectors observed an increase in the production rate at Natanz on November 27, it added. The IAEA then verified the amount being produced at Natanz on December 19 and Fordow on December 24, it said. The IAEA did not formally notify its member states of the reversal of the slowdown until Tuesday's report.
Despite Iran’s constant violation of its nuclear commitments and efforts to stonewall the UN watchdog, the IAEA board of governors and its chief, Rafael Grossi, have failed to take any tangible actions. Grossi keeps reiterating that "significant safeguards issues remain outstanding" in Iran’s nuclear program and "no progress" has been made In Iran’s nuclear promises. In September, Iran also withdrew the designation of several inspectors assigned to conduct verification activities in Iran under the Non-Proliferation Treaty Safeguards Agreement. In late November, IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi stated that Iran was not fulfilling many aspects of its commitments under the 2015 nuclear accord (JCPOA) and the March 2023 agreement.
Negotiations since April 2021 to revive the Obama-era JCPOA nuclear deal have failed to make progress, and Iran continues to expand its nuclear program. The previous US administration withdrew from the agreement in 2018 and imposed harsh economic sanctions. Iran retaliated by starting to violate the JCPOA limits and substantially increased both the quantity and the quality of its uranium enrichment.
Iran did not agree to a compromise plan proposed by the European Union in 2022 to revive the agreement, despite the Biden administration’s stated goal of finding a diplomatic solution. Earlier in the month, the Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), Mohammad Eslami, said sanctions against the country must be lifted before Tehran fulfills its nuclear commitments.
With the absence of reformist and moderate groups from the electoral competition due to disqualifications by the Interior Ministry and anticipated vetting by the Guardian Council, the conservative factions are seemingly unconcerned about the potential implications, notably the prospect of low voter turnout on the election day, March 1. In fact, there are reports that ultraconservatives would even welcome a mere 5-percent turnout.
Competition in the elections is taking place in the apparent absence of reformist and moderate groups that have been effectively barred from running for the Majles as most of their well-known candidates have been disqualified by the Interior ministry and other are expected to be barred by the hardliner-dominated Guardian Council.
The conservatives, however, do not appear to be bothered by the implications of rejecting other groups, most notably, a low turnout on the election day, March 1. Former reformist lawmaker Mostafa Kavakebian has quoted an incumbent conservative MP as having said that the ultraconservatives will be even happy with a 5-percent turnout.
However, the conservative factions are seemingly unconcerned about the potential implications of barring others, notably the prospect of low voter turnout on the election five-percent turnout.
While the ultraconservative Paydari Party, which currently holds sway in the government and parliament, maintains its dominant position, several smaller conservative groups are emerging, hoping to secure a few seats in the Majles to establish their political presence for the next four years.
Recent reports on the conservative landscape before the elections have identified at least seven conservative groups challenging the dominance of the Paydari Party. These groups all bear names suggesting support for the Islamic Revolution, making it difficult for non-Iranian readers to discern their positions. The key figures leading these groups, however, provide better insights into their current political stances.
These figures include vigilante leader Hossein Allahkaram, Housing Minister Mehrdad Bazrpash, Majles Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, controversial hardline cleric Hamid Rasaei, and other lesser-known conservative political figures. While they currently identify as conservatives, their ultimate goal is to secure a share of the limited 290 Majles seats.
Conservative activist Hedayatollah Khademi says the seven conservative groups might be shortlisted to around four groups. He says voters will look at the candidates’ background and will reject many of them even before they go to the polls.
Each one of these groups aims to nominate at least 30 candidates for the 30 seats allocated to Tehran, where most Iranian politicians are based. In contrast, the reform and moderate camp has struggled to present even 30 candidates, as vetting and disqualifications by the Interior Ministry and the Guardian Council have limited their options. Former President Hassan Rouhani is said to be planning to give a list of only 16 candidates form his Moderation and Development Party, and apparently, he is not finding that as easy as he might have thought.
Another conservative analyst, Ahmad Bakhshayesh Ardestani, highlights a curious aspect of this competition. While a political heavyweight like Ghalibaf may secure a seat in the Majles for himself, it is unlikely that he will be able to bring anyone closely associated with him into the next parliament.
Moreover, this competitive landscape among conservatives is likely to result in a significant division within Iran's conservative bloc. Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who seeks to diminish the influence of moderates and reformists while maintaining conservative power, appears to welcome this division, as it could hinder the Paydari Party from winning an absolute majority, potentially creating complications for the political system. Khamenei's aim seems to be consolidating power by weakening and dividing conservative factions to ensure his own supremacy.