Iran rejects U.S. "baseless" cyber-attack charges against Iranian individuals, firms

TEHRAN, April 24 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nasser Kanaani on Wednesday rejected the U.S. government's "baseless" claims accusing several Iranian individuals and firms of having been involved in cyber-attacks on American companies.

He made the remarks after the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control on Tuesday sanctioned two Iranian companies and four individuals on charges of having been "involved in the malicious cyber activity on behalf of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Cyber Electronic Command" against American companies and government entities.

Kanaani said the U.S. could not deflect the global wave of criticism against its "unlimited support for Israel's war crimes in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank" by putting "unfounded" labels on Iranian individuals and institutions.

He called on the U.S. government to end its military, financial, and political support for Israel, reconsider its policies, and act responsibly, instead of hurling "baseless" accusations at other countries.

Under Secretary of the U.S. Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian Nelson said in a statement that "Iranian malicious cyber actors continue to target U.S. companies and government entities in a coordinated, multi-pronged campaign intended to destabilize our critical infrastructure and cause harm to our citizens."

"The United States will continue to leverage our whole-of-government approach to expose and disrupt these networks' operations," he added.