Albania cut diplomatic ties with Iran and expelled Iran's embassy staff in response to a cyberattack in July that used ransomware to temporarily shut down Albanian government services and websites. The Albanian investigation into the attack, aided by U.S. government experts, concluded that it had been "orchestrated and sponsored" by Iran. The hackers had also publicly posted purported copies of Albanian residence permits for members of the exiled Mujahideen-e Khalq (MEK) Iranian opposition group.