Sali Berisha, the leader of the main Albanian opposition party – Democratic Party of Albania (PD) – called on NATO to strengthen Albania's air defenses, after the US embassy in Tirana warned on social media yesterday that groups linked to Iran could attack entities or sites “linked to the US or Iranian opposition elements in Albania“, ATA reported, BTA reports.
In a statement on the subject today, Berisha said that in his opinion “the US embassy's warning could not have been issued without reason“ and appealed to NATO with the following words: “I call on the North Atlantic Alliance to guarantee our air defense in the same way as it guarantees Turkey“.
Earlier today, Albanian Interior Minister Besfort Lamalari told the country's parliament that there was no specific information about a threat to Albania's security. In his statement, he pointed out that the warning from the US Embassy in Tirana was a standard statement, as is done in many countries, and stressed that the increased security measures in Albania recently were not specifically related to the latest information, but to the overall situation in the world, including the conflict in the Middle East.
At the same time, the media department of the Albanian presidency stated that Albanian President Bajram Begaj “is in constant contact with the institutions responsible for the country's security and is duly informed of all possible situations and measures taken within the framework of security protocols“. The institution's statement said that all responsible institutions in the country are closely monitoring the situation.
Albania severed diplomatic relations with Iran in 2022 after a cyberattack that temporarily shut down a number of websites and digital services of the Albanian state administration. At the time, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama announced that a thorough investigation had provided irrefutable evidence that one of the cyberattacks that hit Albania in 2022 was orchestrated and sponsored by Iran.
After the start of the war in Iran at the end of February, Albanian mail and the email of the Albanian parliament were targeted by cyberattacks by Iranian hackers from the group “Homeland Justice“, who are also believed to be responsible for the 2022 attacks.