WASHINGTON — Spokesperson of the US National Security Council (NSC) Adrienne Watson said Wednesday the United States strongly condemns Iran's cyberattack against "our NATO ally, Albania," in last July.

"We join in Prime Minister Rama's call for Iran to be held accountable for this unprecedented cyber incident," she said in a press release. "The United States will take further action to hold Iran accountable for actions that threaten the security of a US ally and set a troubling precedent for cyberspace.

"For weeks, the U.S. government has been on the ground working alongside private sector partners to support Albania's efforts to mitigate, recover from, and investigate the July 15 cyberattack that destroyed government data and disrupted government services to the public.

"We have concluded that the Government of Iran conducted this reckless and irresponsible cyberattack and that it is responsible for subsequent hack and leak operations," the NSC spokesperson stressed.

"Iran's conduct disregards norms of responsible peacetime State behavior in cyberspace, which includes a norm on refraining from damaging critical infrastructure that provides services to the public," she added. — Agencies