Iranian Ministry To Cleric Website Hacked, Show 'Death To Khamenei' Message

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. (Wikimedia Commons/Khamenei.ir)

JAKARTA - Several Iranian websites were hacked on Wednesday with the message "Death to Khamenei - greetings to Rajavi", replacing the site's display with the authorities directly addressing the attack according to Iranian media.

The message referred to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Maryam Rajavi, the leader of the People's Mujahideen of Iran (MEK), an opposition group seeking to overthrow the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Quoted from The Jerusalem Post November 25, the websites affected include those belonging to the Ministry of Justice, Center for Mosque Affairs, Computer Research Center for Islamic Sciences to the website of Ahmad Alamolhoda, a senior cleric and leader of Friday prayers in the city of Mashhad, according to MEK.

The attack was reportedly carried out by the MEK cyber element. Ali Ranjbaran, director of the Alamolhoda website, told Iran's IRNA news agency the MEK "repeatedly threatened and insulted" Alamolhoda.

The cyberattack came just days after Iranian airline Mahan Air was hit by a cyberattack and the hacker group "Hooshyarane Vatan" claimed responsibility, alleging that it had obtained documents linking the airline to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).