Iran State News Agency Fars Disrupted by Cyberattack

One of Iran’s main state news agencies, Fars, was disrupted by hackers over the weekend. The Fars website went down late on Friday by what it said was a “complex hacking and cyberattack operation.” While the channel initially said in Sunday that the site might not be operational for several days, it appeared to be up and running on Sunday morning in the Middle East.

“Cyberattacks against Fars news agency are carried out almost daily from different countries, including the occupied territories,” the channel said on its Telegram channel in an apparent reference to Israel.

Meanwhile, on Saturday, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei praised the Basij militia forces, saying they sacrificed their lives during the ongoing anti-government protests sparked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini while in the custody of the morality police for wearing her hijab improperly. “They have sacrificed their lives to protect people from rioters … the presence of Basij shows that the Islamic Revolution is alive,” Khamenei said in a televised speech.