India, June 24 -- Iran's financial sector is reeling this week after a wave of sophisticated cyberattacks crippled card-based services across at least eight major banks, plunging the country's retail economy into a state of temporary paralysis.

The latest disruptions, which hit institutions including Bank Melli, Bank Saderat, and Bank Tejarat, forced officials to abruptly suspend all card-related operations, including ATM services, point-of-sale terminals, and mobile banking apps, in a desperate bid to prevent unauthorised access.

The outages represent a significant escalation in what appears to be a broader campaign against Iran's digital infrastructure. While banking services have suffered sporadic issues in recent years, the scale an...