US imposes sanctions on Esmail Khatib, Iran’s Minister of Intelligence, MOIS

 

 WASHINGTON –  The United States today imposed sanctions on Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) and its Minister of Intelligence, Esmail Khatib, for  allegedly engaging in cyber-enabled activities against the United States and its allies.

In a statement, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in July 2022, cyber threat actors assessed to be sponsored by the Government of Iran and its MOIS disrupted Albanian government computer systems, forcing the government to suspend public services for its citizens.

“Since at least 2007, the MOIS and its cyber actor proxies have conducted malicious cyber operations targeting a range of government and private-sector organizations across various critical infrastructure sectors”, Blinken said.

He added that Iran’s cyberattacks targeting civilian government services and critical infrastructure sectors can cause grave damage to these services and disregard norms of responsible peacetime state behavior in cyberspace.

Blinken said the United States will continue to use all appropriate tools to counter cyberattacks against the United States and our Allies.