Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said earlier on Tuesday that it plans to target major U.S. technology companies across the Middle East, including Apple, Microsoft and Google, on Wednesday amid the escalation in the region.
“Since the main element in designing and tracking terrorist targets are American and ICT and AI companies.. from now on, [these] main institutions will be our legitimate targets,” on the Tasnim state news agency.
The threats come as the war surpasses the one month mark, with no official ceasefire in sight despite disputed reports of talks happening via mediators in Islamabad, Pakistan.
Target List
This included Meta, Nvidia, Oracle, Tesla, HP, Intel and IBM. The only non-U.S. company on the list appears to be the United Arab Emirates’s (UAE) AI champion G42.
The IRGC advised employees to leave their workplaces immediately, noting that it planned to begin targeting these firms Wednesday at 8 p.m. local time.
Tech Firms Follow Banks
Earlier this month, leading banks such as Standard Chartered and Citi evacuated their offices in DIFC with work from home orders as the banks switch to online working whilst remaining fully operational.
Amazon data centres were also targeted in the UAE and Bahrain.
Tech stocks have faced their worst week in decades, as the war drives energy inputs up whilst heightening risk for AI data centres in the region. Investors are aware of cost pressures and supply side risk to physical infrastructure.
Global Security Review
U.S. tech firms, like Snapchat, have been ordered to work from home since reported threats to tech firms in early March.
Sources at Snapchat told Finance Middle East that Snapchat’s Global Security Team are reported to be advising all employees to work from home until the end of April due to the threat level.
This remains a developing story subject to change.
Stay Up to Date with the Latest Updates at Finance ME
Dubai Investments Appoints Nishant Shah as CFO Following 31% EBT Growth in FY25
Post-War Realities: Why Saudi Arabia Will Accelerate Localisation
Presight Director: AI is Becoming Core Financial Infrastructure
