After warning that companies including Nvidia, Apple and Microsoft could be “legitimate targets,” Iran’s Revolutionary Guard signaled a sharp escalation, raising fears that a regional war is spilling into the global technology and infrastructure networks that underpin the digital economy.
Iran’s powerful military arm has threatened a broad range of American technology companies with attacks, raising fresh concerns about the widening scope of a conflict that has already rippled across the Middle East.
In a statement posted on Telegram, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said 18 companies, including Nvidia, Apple, Microsoft and Google, would be considered “legitimate targets” in retaliation for recent U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran. The warning said attacks could begin at 8 p.m. Wednesday in Tehran, and urged employees to leave workplaces to protect their safety.
“From now on, for every assassination, an American company will be destroyed,” the group said in a message circulated on an IRGC-affiliated channel.
The list of companies also included Cisco, HP, Intel, Oracle, IBM, Dell, Palantir, JPMorgan, Tesla, General Electric, Spire Solutions, Boeing and the United Arab Emirates-based artificial intelligence firm G42.
The threat follows Iranian strikes earlier this month on Amazon Web Services data centers in the Middle East, which caused outages affecting a range of digital services in the United Arab Emirates.
American technology companies have in recent years expanded their presence in the region, investing heavily in artificial intelligence infrastructure drawn by relatively low energy costs and available land.
“The safety and wellbeing of our team is our number one priority,” an Intel spokesperson said in a statement. “We are taking steps to safeguard and support our workers and facilities in the Middle East and are actively monitoring the situation.”
Microsoft, Google and JPMorgan declined to comment. Other companies named did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The threats come amid an intensifying conflict between Iran, the United States and Israel. Since late February, Iranian retaliation has included waves of drones and missiles targeting countries across the Gulf.
More than 3,000 drones and missiles have been launched at the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Kuwait since the conflict began, according to data compiled by the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Casualties have mounted. More than 3,400 Iranian civilians and military personnel have been killed, according to the Human Rights Activist News Agency. The United States Central Command has reported 13 American service members killed.
President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he expected U.S. forces would leave Iran in “two or three weeks.” The White House said he would address the nation on Wednesday night.
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Faustine Ngila is the AI Editor at Impact Newswire, based in Nairobi, Kenya. He is an award-winning journalist specializing in artificial intelligence, blockchain, and emerging technologies.
He previously worked as a global technology reporter at Quartz in New York and Digital Frontier in London, where he covered innovation, startups, and the global digital economy.
With years of experience reporting on cutting-edge technologies, Faustine focuses on AI developments, industry trends, and the impact of technology on society.
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