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People sit in a cafe outside the Apple Store in Dubai on May 8, 2025.

Iran names US tech, finance firms in new Middle East threat list

Firms listed as potential targets included Oracle, Microsoft, Apple, Google, Meta, IBM, Palantir and Nvidia, while banking giant JPMorgan and UAE-based AI firm G42 were also listed.

Traffic rolls along a main throughfare under a banner with images of past and present leaders that reads in Farsi, "Domino fall", as daily life returns to the streets following nationwide protests, in the Iranian capital Tehran on January 19, 2026. Demonstrations sparked in late December by anger over economic hardship exploded into protests widely seen as the biggest challenge to the Iranian leadership in years. Limited internet access briefly returned in Iran before dropping again, a monitor said January

Analysis

Iran’s longest-ever internet blackout leaves 99% offline: What to know

Facing a historic internet blackout, Iranians are locked in a struggle with authorities to find loopholes to get around this communications crackdown, leading to "shutdowns within a shutdown."

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Latest News

What we know about UAE blocking X accounts accused of misinformation

Attendees take a picture of French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe as he delivers a speech during a visit to the Louvre Abu Dhabi Museum on February 10, 2018, on Saadiyat island in the Emirati capital, to launch the French-Emirati "Year of Cultural Dialogue". (Photo by KARIM SAHIB / AFP) (Photo by KARIM SAHIB/AFP via Getty Images)

United Arab Emirates

Interview

AI, cybersecurity high on Mideast priorities amid global tech rivalry: Tech Mahindra

A man and woman walk along a promenade overlooking the Burj al-Arab and Dubai skyline on January 4, 2025. (Photo by Giuseppe CACACE / AFP) (Photo by GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP via Getty Images)

Mideast’s AI startups capture record $858M in funding during 2025, doubling share

Detailed image of Middle Eastern developer in front of desktop pc monitoring a complex network, ensuring data security and efficient computing using cloud, AI and machine learning.

United Arab Emirates

Samuel Wendel

Senior Market Research Analyst

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Adam Lucente

News and Business Correspondent

In New York City, reporting on regional news, militancy, climate change

David Rosenberg

In Tel Aviv, reporting on business and tech

Visitors use an augmented reality mask on the Saudi Arabia company STCs stand at the Mobile World Congress (MWC), the telecom industry's biggest annual gathering, in Barcelona on February 27, 2023. (Photo by Thomas COEX / AFP) (Photo by THOMAS COEX/AFP via Getty Images)

Gulf investors shape US-China tech competition, from Silicon Valley to Shenzen

Facing a funding drought, big name US venture capitalists have been descending on the Gulf in search of fresh funds.

Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

A photo illustration taken on March 30, 2018 in Beijing shows the screen of a laptop with the word "VPN" written in the search field of the Chinese Baidu website. Chinese authorities had announced that all unrecognised VPN services would be blocked by March 31, meaning that Chinese and foreign companies must choose from a limited number of state-approved VPNs. / AFP PHOTO / FRED DUFOUR (Photo credit should read FRED DUFOUR/AFP via Getty Images)

Iran, Yemen, Saudi Arabia follow close behind China in VPN blocking

China led the ranking, blocking about 73% of all attempts to access VPN providers, with Iran and several Gulf Arab countries following close behind.

Israel cyber

UAE, Israel launch global initiative to fight cyberattacks

Sharing information between multiple nations is the best way to defeat increasingly sophisticated ransomware hackers targeting government information.

United Arab Emirates

Visitors stand in front of works by Bybit on display during the 15th edition of Art Dubai at Madinat Jumeirah in the Gulf emirate of Dubai, on March 10, 2022. - Art Dubai, the Middle East's largest annual contemporary art fair, featured for the first time digital works, as the wealthy Gulf emirate seeks to position itself as a crypto-assets hub. - RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY MENTION OF THE ARTIST UPON PUBLICATION - TO ILLUSTRATE THE EVENT AS SPECIFIED IN THE CAPTION (Photo by Karim SAHIB / AFP)

Gulf primed to capture more crypto business, but volatility may mute returns

Amid an accelerating US crypto crackdown, the Middle East stands to benefit.

Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Technicians work at the headquarters of the Israeli company 1MRobotics, in the Israeli coastal city of Tel Aviv on, January 11, 2023. - Behind a seemingly ordinary storefront in Tel Aviv, the Israeli company is speeding up online shopping by replacing staff with robots that manoevure around small, streetside storerooms. (Photo by JACK GUEZ / AFP) (Photo by JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images)

The Middle East joins the global supercomputer competition

While most of the Middle East is not competing in the supercomputing race, Israel is one of a handful of countries that include Saudi Arabia and the UAE that have the high-tech aspirations, financial resources and local talent to be players

David Rosenberg

David Rosenberg

In Tel Aviv, reporting on business and tech

An Israeli worker walks between solar panel rows laid out at a farm on the outskirts of Moshav Haspin in the Israel-annexed Golan Heights near the border with Syria on January 8, 2023. (Photo by JALAA MAREY / AFP) (Photo by JALAA MAREY/AFP via Getty Images)

Green-tech demand to unlock more deals for Israel in Middle East

Israeli companies offering solutions to climate change, as well as the growing scarcity of land and water, are poised for unprecedented growth opportunities.

David Rosenberg

David Rosenberg

In Tel Aviv, reporting on business and tech

This photo taken on May 27, 2023 shows customers in a cryptocurrency exchange office in Hong Kong. Retail investors in Hong Kong may soon be able to buy popular cryptocurrencies like bitcoin at government-licensed exchanges, thanks to new rules meant to bolster the city's standing as a digital asset hub. (Photo by Peter PARKS / AFP) / TO GO WITH HongKong-China-economy-Cryptocurrency,FOCUS by Holmes CHAN (Photo by PETER PARKS/AFP via Getty Images)

UAE to cooperate with Hong Kong on fintech, crypto as China ties grow

China’s relations with the UAE and other Gulf states are strengthening, particularly regarding economic and energy matters.

Andrea DiCenzo/Getty Images

Analysis

Gulf space sector attracts private companies, including Bezos' Blue Origin

The Middle East and North Africa is one of the world's most active regions in expressing interest in space technology and travel.

By Salim A. Essaid

Workers install electric wires for Iraqi refugees as they set up a new part of the Khazir refugee camp near the Kurdish checkpoint of Aski Kalak, 40 kilometers (25 miles) west of Erbil, Iraqi Kurdistan, Nov. 21, 2016.

Iraqi Kurdistan's first solar plant helps with power outages, boosts agriculture

The Kurdistan Regional Government’s efforts to increase renewable energy usage come amid persistent electricity shortages throughout Iraq, as well as rising environmental concerns.

Meta-nose smell detector

Analysis

UAE gets whiff of metaverse's smell potential

The United Arab Emirates's metaverse-friendly environment is attracting ambitious projects like Meta-nose, which can identify thousands of smells and convert them into digital data.

By Salim A. Essaid

Rayyanah Barnawi

Meet Rayyanah Barnawi, Saudi Arabia's first female astronaut to go to space

Rayyanah Barnawi said she’ll be taking Arabic coffee with her to drink aboard the International Space Station, teaching children, and practicing zero-gravity space flips with her colleagues.

Hydrogen-powered car

King Mohammed IV launches Morocco's first hydrogen car

The development of the hydrogen-powered vehicle, due to be released in 2025, is a response to the rising global demand for sustainable cars.