Iran has issued a warning that it may target banks and other economic facilities connected to the United States and Israel in the Gulf region, including premises linked to technology giants such as Google, Microsoft and Nvidia. The warning was reported by Al Jazeera on Wednesday.
The statement came from a spokesperson for the Khatam al-Anbiya Headquarters, an organisation the United Nations says is owned by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The spokesperson said, “The enemy left our hands open to targeting economic centres and banks belonging to the United States and the Zionist regime in the region.”
He also cautioned civilians in the region, warning that “people of the region should not be within a one-kilometre radius of banks.”
‘The scope of Iran’s legitimate targets expands…’
Tasnim news agency, which is affiliated with the IRGC, also released what it described as a list of offices and infrastructure associated with major US technology firms that have links to Israel. The agency labelled them as “Iran’s new targets.”
According to the report, the companies named include Google, Microsoft, Palantir, IBM, Nvidia and Oracle. The locations mentioned in the list include offices and cloud infrastructure facilities in several Israeli cities as well as in some Gulf countries.
Tasnim further wrote that “as the scope of the regional war expands to infrastructure war, the scope of Iran’s legitimate targets expands.”
Firms take precautionary steps across Gulf region
Following the warning, PwC (PricewaterhouseCoopers), one of the global ‘Big Four’ professional services firms, closed its offices in several Gulf countries for the rest of the week as a precautionary measure, AFP reported, citing a source.
The closures affect offices in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait, according to the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The move came amid Iran’s threats to target economic interests connected to the US and Israel in the Middle East.
Another major consulting firm, Deloitte, also took precautionary measures by evacuating staff from its Dubai office. Employees were instructed on Wednesday to leave their offices located in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), a source told AFP.
Standard Chartered, a London-headquartered bank with a large presence in the United Arab Emirates, also operates offices in the DIFC, a financial hub that hosts many international banks and law firms.
Iran has previously raised concerns about potential disruptions to the global economy by threatening to block the Strait of Hormuz, a critical shipping route through which nearly 20% of the world’s oil supply passes.
Iran cites attack on Bank Sepah as trigger
Iranian officials said the latest warning followed an alleged attack by US-Israeli forces on Bank Sepah in Tehran, a bank linked to Iran’s military.
The central military command of the Islamic Republic said, “Following their failed campaign, the terrorist US army and cruel Zionist regime have targeted one of the country’s banks.”
It added, “With this illegitimate and uncommon action, the enemy is forcing our hand to target economic centres and banks linked to the US and Zionist regime in the region.”
Iranian state media reported that several bank employees were killed in the attack on a bank located in northern Tehran.
After the threat was issued, HSBC branches in Qatar were reportedly closed until further notice, while Citigroup also evacuated staff from its Dubai offices as a precaution.
