France accused the Iranian Revolutionary Guard of being behind a massive electronic attack that targeted the refrigeration systems in hundreds of supermarkets last October, pledging to take punitive measures at the European level, while the judicial authorities opened a criminal investigation and demanded the issuance of international arrest warrants against the suspects.
Paris: An “unprecedented” cyber attack
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said today, Monday (November 9, 2026), that the attack on French stores was “carried out by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard,” describing the operation as “unprecedented in terms of its size and level of aggression.”
He considered it the first large-scale cyber attack aimed at sabotage on French territory, and a serious threat to national interests and public safety.
He said that France seeks to impose sanctions by the European Union on all those responsible for these attacks, and will take additional measures, declared and undeclared, to respond to them and deter similar attacks.
He added that Paris summoned the Iranian ambassador to protest the attack, stressing that France would seek to impose European sanctions against those responsible.
Judicial investigation and arrest warrants
The French Public Prosecution announced the opening of a judicial investigation against officials in the “Shahid Kawa” group, a unit specialized in cyber warfare linked to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.
The Public Prosecutor in Paris, Laure Picot, said that the investigation targets the head of the unit, his two deputies, and other people whose identities investigations may reveal later, noting that investigators have found evidence related to the work methods used, as well as technical indicators linked to Iran and the use of the Persian language.
The prosecution also requested the issuance of international arrest warrants against the suspects.
How were store refrigerators targeted?
According to French authorities, the attacks occurred during the night of October 11 and 12 and targeted control devices for cooling systems belonging to the companies “Danfoss” and “Dexel”.
The attack affected about 700 supermarkets across France, as the attackers were able to disable alarm systems and launch defrosting programs inside refrigerators, which led to high temperatures and the destruction of large quantities of food.
The Public Prosecution confirmed that the attacks caused major food losses and the outbreak of about twenty fires.
The French Blood Bank was also targeted in early November.
Mysterious attacks go beyond France
In parallel with the French investigations, American media reported that the authorities had opened investigations into a series of electronic attacks that targeted vital infrastructure in the United States, including the transportation system in Los Angeles in March, water treatment plants in July, in addition to ships that were on their way to the United States in August. Despite the multiple incidents and the similar nature of some of the attacks, the party responsible for them outside France remains unknown until now.
The Iranian mission to the United Nations did not respond to requests for comment from Reuters, while Tehran has consistently denied any involvement in cyber attacks attributed to it.
Evidence linking the attack to Iran
The French Cyber Crisis Coordination Center said that a set of technical and intelligence indicators lead to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard as the party commanding the attack, while the operation was carried out by the “Shahid Kawa” unit.
The center added that the techniques used had previously appeared in operations attributed to the same unit since April 2026, and indications were found indicating the use of the Persian language within the technical structure of the attack.
He also pointed out that the "Siberian News" platform linked to the Iranian unit covered the operation in propaganda days after its implementation.
An attack that spread to other European countries
The French announcement came after a series of cyber attacks targeted the refrigeration systems in supermarkets and the food industry in several European countries since mid-October. Remote control of refrigerator temperatures led to the spoilage of large quantities of food, while stores in at least nine European countries were forced in early November to dispose of products worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
Media reports initially pointed the finger at Russian hacking groups, including "NoName 057(16)" and "Z-Pintest," but the Kremlin denied any connection to the attacks.
The European Union is considering a response
France informed European Union foreign policy chief Kaya Kallas and the G7 foreign ministers of the results of the French investigations.
