Albania severed diplomatic ties with Iran and expelled the country’s embassy staff on Wednesday after it blamed Iran for a July cyberattack that targeted its government websites.
The government formally announced the move to the Iranian embassy in Tirana with an official letter, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama said, according to the Associated Press.
All Iranian embassy employees were told to leave the country within 24 hours.
Albania experienced a serious cyberattack on July 15 that took down a large number of government websites and digital services.
Rama said an investigation concluded Iran committed the attack and described it as “state aggression.”
“The deep investigation put at our disposal undeniable evidence that the cyberattack against our country was orchestrated and sponsored by the Islamic Republic of Iran which had involved four groups for the attack on Albania,” Rama said in a statement.
The White House said in a statement that it supported Albania’s decision.
“The United States strongly condemns Iran’s cyberattack,” National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said. “We join in Prime Minister Rama’s call for Iran to be held accountable for this unprecedented cyber incident.”