Paris (France) (AFP) – Sanctions and discreet reprisals: France, which on Monday accused Iran of being at the origin of the large-scale cyberattacks that targeted hundreds of connected supermarket refrigerators in October, is ramping up its response against Tehran.

Published on: 11/10/2026 - 1:52 p.m.

“We are not prohibiting ourselves from anything,” declared Tuesday the head of diplomacy Jean-Noël Barrot: “We will take all measures, including those which we will not report publicly, deemed by ourselves to be proportional and necessary to deter any new attack and punish the perpetrators of this unacceptable aggression.”

“The French cyber defense doctrine opens up a certain number of possibilities for the authorities to take actions, even if we do not reveal the exact content,” he insisted on the FranceinfoTV channel.

France officially attributed Monday to a cyber unit reporting to the Revolutionary Guards of the Islamic Republic responsibility for the cyberattack which targeted, on the night of October 11 to 12, refrigeration controllers of supermarkets of around 700 mass distribution sites in France.

By increasing their temperature, the attack led to "significant losses of goods and in at least 15 cases fire outbreaks", according to the cyber crisis coordination center (C4), which brings together different state services including the National Information Systems Security Agency (Anssi) and external intelligence (DGSE).

“This is the first time that we have had a cyberattack with the objective of sabotage on this scale, it is a major attack on the interests of the nation, on the security of the French,” judged the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

The Iranian ambassador to France has already been summoned Tuesday morning to the Quai d'Orsay, which expressed its "strongest protest", according to Mr. Barrot.

On the judicial front, the Paris prosecutor's office requested the issuance of international arrest warrants against two leaders of this unit named Shahid Kaveh.

“Quick and united response”

Paris also intends to act at the European level to establish new sanctions against Tehran, which may include "entry bans on European territory", "asset freezes, immobilization of their financial assets", according to him.

The European Union said on Tuesday it was ready to consider it.

“Pending discussions with member states, we, as the European Union, are ready to provide a rapid and united response,” said Anouar El Anouni, spokesperson for the EU diplomatic service.

“We have the Foreign Affairs Council next Monday, so we will have the opportunity to discuss it, because these cyber incidents that are happening in Europe, if they are attributed, also call for a strong response from us,” argued the head of EU diplomacy, Kaja Kallas, on Monday.

At the beginning of November, supermarkets in Belgium, Estonia, Finland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal and Sweden were in turn affected by a hacker attack, with the temperature of their refrigerators soaring.

Responsibility for this new wave of cyberattacks has not yet been officially established.

Engaged in a standoff with the United States, raising fears of a new escalation between Washington and Tehran since the Israeli-American strikes launched on February 28, Iran is regularly accused of using asymmetric means to achieve its ends, targeting Europe in particular.

On Tuesday, Tehran pressed Washington to accede to its demands to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a vital artery for the export of hydrocarbons from the Gulf region.

“The conflict with Iran will not be resolved either by military means or by tougher sanctions,” argued the head of Iranian diplomacy Abbas Araghchi, quoted by the official Irna agency.

© 2026 AFP

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