As the Middle East conflict escalates, Iran’s military command has publicly warned that economic hubs tied to the United States and Israel including major banks and tech firms could be targeted across the Gulf region. The warning applies to facilities linked to financial centres and companies like Google, Microsoft, Palantir, IBM, Nvidia and Oracle.
Iran’s military statement frames this as a response to recent strikes on Iranian financial infrastructure. Officials said the conflict has shifted into “infrastructure warfare,” meaning tech and economic infrastructure that supports Western and allied operations could be seen as legitimate targets.
In the United Arab Emirates, which is a major financial and tech hub, firms are taking the warnings seriously: banks like Citigroup and Standard Chartered have evacuated staff and shifted to remote work, and some consultancies and firms have temporarily closed offices.
This threat isn’t just about military bases or oil pipelines it’s about digital and economic infrastructure, including cloud services and regional headquarters operated by multinational tech companies. Analysts see this as a sign that Iran is expanding the battlefield beyond conventional targets.
For the public and businesses in cities like Dubai and Abu Dhabi, it means heightened security precautions and an uncertain outlook for foreign operations while tensions remain high.
