Albania blames Iran for the July cyberattack and suspends diplomatic relations

Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama said on Wednesday that the entire staff of the Islamic Republic of Iran Embassy in Albania had been asked to leave within 24 hours.

This decision was the result of the termination of diplomatic relations with Iran following the identification of an Albanian government infrastructure cyberattack on Iranian threat actors in July. Rama said that: ‘The in-depth investigation provided us with indisputable evidence that the cyberattack against our country was orchestrated and sponsored by the Islamic Republic of Iran through the engagement of four groups that enacted the aggression.’

The US government also officially blamed Iran for the July attack on Albania. The US official said that they condemn this attack and that the Islamic Republic of Iran would be held responsible for endangering the security of a NATO ally. Further actions will be taken to hold Iran accountable if another attack on any of their NATO ally happens in the future.