TEHRAN, October 27. /TASS/. A massive cyberattack was likely the cause of a recent failure that disrupted the operation of gas stations in Iran, Head of the country's Supreme Cyberspace Council Abolhassan Firouzabadi said.
"The attack was so massive that it disrupted the operation of all the 4,300 gas stations in the country," he pointed out, as cited by the Press TV channel. "This attack could have been carried out from overseas like the attack on Iran's railways," Firouzabadi added.
According to the official, the cyberattack did not cause any damage to equipment but gas stations had to stop providing services to customers. "Although the cyberattack was repelled, it created a lot of difficulties," he noted, adding: "We hope that all gas stations will resume normal operation tomorrow."
About 80% of Iran's gas stations resumed operation on Wednesday, a spokesman for Iran's National Oil Products Distribution Company said earlier.
On Tuesday, fuel sales based on government quotas at Iranian gas stations were disrupted due to a software failure. Experts managed to restart sales in manual mode though at regular and not discounted prices, Press TV noted.
Iran launched the quota-based system of discounted fuel sales in November 2019 amid a rise in gas and diesel prices. In order to prevent fuel scheming and smuggling, fuel cards were introduced that give their holders the right to purchase gas at the price of 15,000 Iranian rials (about $0.05) per liter. An average monthly quota stands at about 60 liters per person. Regular gas price is 30,000 Iranian rials (about $0.1) per liter.