Paris [France], November 10 (ANI): French authorities have formally accused Iran of orchestrating an 'unprecedented' cyberattack campaign targeting supermarket refrigeration networks across the country, pledging to push for European Union sanctions against Tehran, CNN reported on Monday.

The cyber operation, which took place last month, targeted around 700 retail locations-including major chains like Intermarche, Cooperative U, and E. Leclerc-resulting in massive food spoilage and equipment fires after hackers deliberately caused commercial cooling units to defrost.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Nol Barrot condemned the incident as an act of 'unprecedented scale and unprecedented aggressiveness,' describing it as the first large-scale act of cyber sabotage carried out on French soil, according to CNN.

Characterising the disruption as a direct threat to "the nation's interests and the security of the French people," Barrot confirmed that the French government had summoned the Iranian ambassador and is actively pursuing punitive diplomatic measures alongside its European partners.

Tehran has yet to issue an official response to the claims.

Details obtained by CNN affiliate BFMTV revealed that hackers managed to remotely infiltrate the automated temperature control systems of the affected stores. By overriding the regular settings and initiating forced defrost cycles, the intruders raised internal temperatures, ruining vast inventories of perishable produce and triggering fires in several cooling units.

According to CNN, the Paris prosecutor's office initiated a formal inquiry after uncovering digital footprints leading directly to Iran, including "the use of Farsi and IP addresses pointing to devices located in Iran."

French judicial authorities have focused their investigation on the leadership of Shahid Kaveh-a cyber unit tied to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)-specifically targeting the unit's head, two of his deputies, and associated operatives.

The French revelations follow a pattern of similar, unexplained cyber disruptions that hit food retailers in Ireland, Belgium, and Sweden earlier this month, though investigators have not confirmed whether those incidents are connected to the breach in France, CNN reported.

CNN also reported that following joint US and Israeli military strikes on Iran earlier in the year, American intelligence agencies had circulated confidential alerts advising government departments and private sector firms to bolster their defences against potential Iranian retaliatory cyber operations. (ANI)