Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama on Thursday blamed Iran for what he described as “ruthless” cyberattacks, warning that Tehran has sowed unrest and amplified false information about environmental protests over a new luxury development project in the country from President Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump and son-in-law Jared Kushner. 

Kushner’s investment firm has moved forward with a luxury project in Albania that includes a coastal development in the Narta Lagoon area — a wildlife reserve — and a smaller resort on the nearby uninhabited island of Sazan. The project has yet to be approved and has not obtained building permits, but has drawn fierce backlash and sparked daily protests from thousands of demonstrators outside Rama’s office due to environmental concerns. 

Speaking at the FII Priority summit in Rome, Rama confirmed that the land has been “bought by investors” and is undergoing an “environmental impact assessment.” However, he claimed that the uproar is not what it seems and is being fueled by misinformation and cyberattacks from Iran, which he described as Albania’s “enemy” in the Middle East. 

“The amount of posts that have been entering there from our enemy, we have only one enemy, which is the [Islamic] Republic of Iran, and they are engaged in three years in a ruthless cyber-attack against Albania,” Rama said. “They [Iran] entered also in this game…freedom of reach is what every regime, through every propaganda, has done to go in every brain and to put the lie in the brain.” 

In 2022, Albania was the subject of an Iranian cyberattack after the country hosted members of the Mojahedin-e-Khalq (MEK), an Iranian opposition group. The disruptive attack compromised Albanian government systems and forced the country to temporarily sever digital services. The attacks also led Albania to break diplomatic relations with Iran. 

The issue remains a sore point between the countries, with Rama saying earlier this month that the Albanian people were “the target of a cyberterror campaign that aimed to cripple an entire country.” Tehran has denied the allegations. 

Rama has also claimed that antisemitic narratives, as well as resentment over the project’s ties to Kushner and Trump, are behind the opposition.

“The digital outrage, of course, has been provoked, mostly because Kushner and Trump’s shadow are behind it, enough to bring a lot of people from a lot of ways of like from a lot of continents jumping,” Rama said. “The amount of falsehoods, the amount of fake videos that were taken from protests in different countries that were pushed as protests in Albania.”

Speaking on a podcast hosted by David Senra earlier this month, Ivanka Trump said, “there’s nothing uglier than a beautiful nonfunctional space,” describing the project as “architecturally incredibly meaningful and beautiful and intentional with a highly functional space.”

Rama argued that the project would be transformational for Albania’s tourism industry and GDP. A BBC report indicated that the project could bring in up to €4 billion of investment, a major mark for a country that consistently ranks among the poorest in Europe. Rama said that the “big business and investment” can offer the country a “bigger vision than the usual small investments.” 

The Albanian leader has also dismissed environmental concerns, arguing that the project would show that “nature and people can coexist.” 

“There is nothing that has to worry any environmentalists,” Rama said. “And, yes, Albania will go forward. The majority of the Albanian people want the project.”

As Albania seeks European Union membership, EU officials have reportedly urged Albanian authorities to ensure that the project aligns with the bloc’s environmental regulations, warning that failing to do so could jeopardize the country’s accession bid.