NATO allies on Thursday condemned a recent cyberattack against Albania that the governments in Washington and Tirana have blamed on Iran.
The organization’s condemnation coincided with the Albanian counter-terrorism police searching the empty Iranian embassy in Tirana, hours after Iranian diplomats burned papers inside the premises following the severing of diplomatic ties over a cyberattack.
“We strongly condemn such malicious cyber activities designed to destabilize and harm the security of an ally, and disrupt the daily lives of citizens,” the North Atlantic Council, grouping the representatives of NATO’s 30 member states, said in a statement.
“NATO and allies support Albania in strengthening its cyber defence capabilities to withstand and repel such malicious cyber activities in the future,” it added.
Albania cut diplomatic relations with Iran on Wednesday when Prime Minister Edi Rama accused the Islamic Republic of committing the July attack and gave its diplomats 24 hours to close the embassy and leave the country.
In a rare video address, Rama said the cyberattack had “threatened to paralyze public services, erase digital systems and hack into state records, steal government intranet electronic communication and stir chaos and insecurity in the country.”
Washington, Albania's closest ally, also blamed Iran and promised to “take further action to hold Iran accountable for actions that threaten the security of a US ally.”
For its part, Tehran condemned Tirana's decision to cut ties, describing the reasons for the move as baseless claims.
The police, wearing masks and helmets and carrying automatic rifles, entered the Iranian embassy’s building - situated just 200 meters from Rama's office - after two cars with diplomatic plates had left, a Reuters reporter saw.
Thirty minutes later, the police were still inside.
The same reporter earlier saw a man inside the embassy throwing papers into a rusty barrel, with flames illuminating the walls of the three-story building.
