Iran Threatens to Strike Google and Other US Tech Firms

Iran has threatened to attack facilities owned by US tech giants and other companies in the Middle East, starting 1 April, in retaliation for US-Israeli assassinations on its soil.

A list from Iran’s military names Apple, Microsoft, Google, Meta, Tesla, Nvidia, Boeing and IBM among “terrorist companies” that are at risk of attacks, according to several pro-government news sites in Iran.

“For every assassination in Iran, these companies must expect the destruction of their related units, starting at 8pm on Wednesday, 1 April (Tehran time),” the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said in a statement on Tuesday.​

It added: “You have ignored our repeated warnings to stop terrorist activities, and today several Iranian citizens were killed in terrorist attacks carried out by you and your Israeli allies.

“Since the main element in designing and tracking assassination targets are American ICT and AI companies, in response to this terrorist operation, from now on the main institutions involved in terrorist operations will be considered legitimate targets.”

​Employees of these companies should “leave their workplaces immediately to save their lives”, the IRGC said, adding that residents living within a one-kilometre radius of the companies should “move to a safe place”.

The other companies on the list are: Cisco, HP, Intel, Oracle, Dell, Planit, JPMorgan, GE, Spire Solutions and G42.

Early last month, Iranian drones struck Amazon Web Services data centres in the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. Some major banks, including HSBC and Citi, have closed their branches or evacuated their offices in the region following threats from Iran.