Nationwide outage hits card payment network in Iran, cause unclear

Point-of-sale terminals went down across Iran for hours Saturday, despite the Central Bank saying service was disrupted for just 35 minutes.

Banking terminals experienced “momentary disruptions between 11:16 and 11:51,” and the systems were now fully operational, the Central Bank said in a statement.

But citizen accounts from Isfahan, Karaj, and Mashhad reported longer failures, with users unable to withdraw cash or transfer money via ATMs or mobile banking.

Tech outlet Digiato reported the outage was linked to Shaparak, the electronic payment network under Central Bank control.

Founded in 2011, Shaparak routes all interbank payment transactions and is a key component of the Islamic Republic’s financial infrastructure.

Broader network disruptions draw cyber concerns

Saturday’s disruption follows a series of cyberattacks and technical failures in the Iranian banking system this month. The online platforms of Sepah Bank—responsible for disbursing military salaries—went offline in mid-June amid the war with Israel. The hacking group Predatory Sparrow claimed responsibility.

At the same time, outages affected Pasargad and Melli Banks. Official media denied a breach at Melli.

On June 24, a separate group called Tapandegan (the beating ones) published data from more than 32 million accounts allegedly hacked from Mellat Bank. “We have not touched the funds,” the group said. “This disclosure is only a warning.”

Speculation over intranet test grows

Some experts say Saturday’s disruption may not have been solely a cyberattack. They suggest the outage could have been part of a live test of the National Information Network, the government’s isolated domestic intranet.

While authorities have not commented on this possibility, the combination of technical denial, widespread user complaints, and recent history of cyberattacks has left many Iranians skeptical of official explanations.