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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

SABAH ARAR/AFP via Getty Images

Iraq's tech ecosystem offers bright spot for private sector

Despite numerous regional and country-specific challenges, Iraqi start-ups had a good year.

Cedric Ribeiro/Getty Images for Sotheby's Dubai

Abu Dhabi bank launches tokenized payment system using wearables

There have been numerous fintech developments in the United Arab Emirates this year.

JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images

Israel set to top up Galilee with desalinated water from Mediterranean

Some of the Sea of Galilee's water will reportedly go to Jordan following a water-sharing deal between Israel and Jordan earlier this year.

A Tesla office on April 20, 2022, in Fremont, Cal.

Elon Musk’s electric vehicle company Tesla hiring in Turkey

The US electric vehicle maker already has a presence in Jordan and Israel and could soon launch in Turkey, where Musk has a good relationship with President Erdogan.

Africa solar

Dubai’s AMEA Power wins solar contract in South Africa

Both the UAE and Saudi Arabia are seeking better ties with sub-Saharan African states, including in regards to energy.

Iranian Nazanin Daneshvar (R) founder of Takhfifan startup company watches her employees working at the desk in Tehran on July 1, 2015. Women are more likely to start businesses. Very present in senior positions of the Islamic Republic, they are needed in the private sector. AFP PHOTO/BEHROUZ MEHRI / AFP / BEHROUZ MEHRI (Photo credit should read BEHROUZ MEHRI/AFP via Getty Images)

The strength of Iran’s startup ecosystem put to the test amid protests

Bijan Khajehpour

Bijan Khajehpour

In Vienna, reporting on Iranian politics

GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP via Getty Images

UAE to open facility that converts waste to green hydrogen

The Gulf state already has one waste-to-energy plant and is looking to build more.

Iraq finance

Iraqi startup Lezzoo expands with purchase of Saydo

The delivery startup is one of several in the autonomous Kurdistan Region, and the autonomous government is hoping to spur more startup growth.

A view shows the solar tower of Israel's Ashalim power station surrounded by panels, in the Negev desert near the kibbutz of Ashalim on Aug. 20, 2022.

Israel earmarks residential rooftops for electricity production

The new strategy of the Ministry of Energy includes encouraging residential buildings to install solar panels that would then be connected to the national electricity grid.

Metatut, the first Egyptian city entering the metaverse.

Egypt launches first city on metaverse

Egypt opens the first city on the metaverse inspired by Egyptian civilization.

An electric bus designed and built locally by Roam, a Swedish-Kenyan technology company, is seen in Nairobi on Oct. 19, 2022 during a media presentation.

Egypt builds on COP27 with electric bus deal

The deal follows Egypt hosting the COP27 climate change conference, during which Egypt also announced a plan to develop high-speed rail.

The United Arab Emirates' (UAE) minister of industry and advanced technology, Sultan al-Jaber (L), looks on as John Kerry, the US president's climate envoy, tours the Global Manufacturing and Industrialisation (GMIS) Summit in Dubai on November 22, 2021. (Photo by AFP) (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)

Middle East climate tech startups to be hot investment in 2023, but market still lags

Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech