Iran’s gas stations returning to normal after software problem disrupts services

A software problem has caused disruptions in several petrol stations across Iran, particularly in the capital Tehran, however efforts are underway to return the situation to normal, the National Iranian Oil Products Distribution Company says.

In a statement on Monday, the company said a “technical problem” has occurred in some of the country’s petrol stations caused by the “conspiracy of enemies to overshadow the welfare and comfort of the people.”

It added that specialized working groups have been set up to solve the problem at the shortest possible time while the fuel supply will be carried out through an offline system until further notice.

The statement emphasized that the experts and specialized working groups are solving the problem and “in a few hours all stations will be back to normal and the refueling process will become normal.”

Reza Navaz, a spokesperson for Iran’s petrol stations association, also confirmed that a “technical problem” was behind the disruption.

He added that the supplement of both gasoline and diesel has been stopped but experts are rapidly resolving the issue.

The official rejected claims that the disruption was linked to plans to increase the gas price, saying, “No price hike is on agenda at all.”

Navaz added that there was no fuel supply shortage.

Oil Minister Javad Owji earlier said outside interference was a possible cause.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raeisi instructed the oil minister to investigate the reasons behind the disruption and “immediately” fix it in an appropriate way.

The president also urged the oil ministry to provide “proper and timely information” to the people.

Enemies’ claims cannot be verified: Iran’s Civil Defense Organization

Iran’s Civil Defense Organization said it is weighing all the possible options, including interference and hacking, but it is not currently possible to verify the claims made by the enemies.

It added that from the first moments of the disruption, the emergency response teams of Iran’s Ministry of Petroleum in cooperation with the Civil Defense Organization have been working on the issue and made the necessary decisions to settle the problem and resume fuel supply.

It noted that the issue would be solved in some station by the end of Monday.

The organization pledged to inform the Iranian people on the outcomes of its final investigations within the next days.

A cyberattack targeting the country’s fuel distribution system caused a brief outage in October 2021 which was successfully contained by Iranian experts.

Iran’s Supreme Council of Cyberspace announced that it was possibly launched from abroad.