Yesterday Albania severed diplomatic relations with Iran, accusing it of massive cyber attacks against it, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama said in a statement.
The prime minister of the small Balkan country said Tirana “decided to immediately break off diplomatic relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran,” referring to the July 15 cyberattack on government offices.
He added that “an in-depth investigation has provided us with unequivocal evidence” that the attacks were “organized and sponsored” by Tehran.
He added that the attack also threatens to “destroy digital systems, hack into government records, steal government emails on the intranet, and create a state of chaos and insecurity in the country.”
This is not the first time Albania has expelled Iranian diplomats, as it expelled two of them in 2020 due to their “activities out of proportion to their diplomatic status” – a phrase commonly used in cases of espionage.
In 2018, Albania expelled the Iranian ambassador and another diplomat for “damaging national security.”
