France blames Iran-linked hackers for supermarket refrigerator sabotage

French prosecutors said investigators have identified hackers linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as responsible for a cyberattack that raised temperatures in supermarket refrigerators to as high as 50 °C, destroying food valued at tens of millions of euros. The operation affected roughly 700 stores owned by chains such as Intermarché, Système U and E.Leclerc, where attackers triggered defrost cycles and disabled alarms, leading to about 20 fires and large food waste.

Paris public prosecutor Laure Beccuau indicated that the head and two deputies of Shahid Kaveh, an offensive cyber unit of the Revolutionary Guard, are under investigation, citing the use of Farsi, a distinctive operational mode and IP addresses traced to terminals in Iran.

Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot called the incident “a major attack on the interests of the French nation” and urged European sanctions against Iran. He told France Info that France will consider “all measures – including those we may not disclose publicly – that we deem proportionate and necessary to deter any further attacks.”

The European Union’s chief diplomat Kaja Kallas said the response should be strong, while EU food and agriculture commissioner Christophe Hansen described the attacks as a deliberate attempt to disrupt the food supply chain and undermine consumer confidence.

The hack exploited control systems from Danish firm Danfoss and Italy’s Dixell, which manage refrigeration temperatures. Similar attacks were reported in Belgium, Estonia, Ireland, Finland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Sweden, and a handful of UK meat suppliers were also affected.

U.S. officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, expressed low-confidence judgments that Iran was behind the attacks, describing the Revolutionary Guard as a “deranged group of revolutionaries.” France’s cyber crisis coordination centre noted the October 11-12, 2026 incident as unprecedented in scale and aggressiveness.