A group of Iranian web researchers in a letter rejected the US allegations that a group of Iranian nationals have been behind cyberattacks on a small New York dam and a dozen US banks.
The Iranian researchers' letter came after the US authorities issued "wanted" notices for a group of Iranian hackers the US claims are behind a 2013 computer attack of a small New York dam and a series of cyberattacks on dozens of US banks.
"This measure by the US Justice Department has blatantly discredited the accused Iranian nationals and targeted our prestige," parts of the letter cited by Fars News Agency read.
"This accusation is targeting our academic credibility and social status and hence in a bid to retrieve our damaged credibility, we defend our personal, social and scientific prestige before the international public opinion by using all legal means and mass media."
The Iranian researchers underlined that they will do their best to compensate for the damage caused by the accusations leveled by the US Justice Department and seek its apology.
On March 24, the US Justice Department announced the indictment of seven Iranian nationals during a news conference.
"A federal grand jury in Manhattan found that these seven individuals conspired together and with others to conduct a series of cyberattacks against civilian targets in the United States' financial service industry, that in total or in all, in sum cost the victims tens of millions of dollars," Lynch claimed.
After the announcement, the Iranian mission to the United Nations in a statement said, "Unlike the United States, which has, per reports in the media, given itself the license to engage in illegal cyber warfare against Iran, Iran respects international law and refrains from targeting other nations' economic or financial institutions."
On March 26, Foreign Ministry spokesman, Hossein Jaberi Ansari, denied Tehran's involvement in the wave of unsophisticated cyberattacks that struck glancing blows on the websites of US financial institutions in 2013.
Ansari said the US government is not in a position to charge Iran or other nationals for the attacks without any evidence.
"The US government has in the past launched cyberattacks on Iran's civilian nuclear facilities, putting at risk the environment and the lives of millions of civilians along the way," he said.
