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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

Hydrogen tank.

Saudi firm Alfanar to build green hydrogen plant in Egypt

Saudi Arabia is helping Egypt boost its renewable energy capabilities.

A man looks at his phone on the corniche in the Qatari capital Doha on July 2, 2017.

Qatar issues first digital payment licenses to fintech providers

Qatar as well as Saudi Arabia and the UAE are seeking to bolster their fintech sectors.

Asterra vest

Israeli radiation vest features in NASA space mission

The mission by the US and German space agencies seeks to enable future travel to Mars.

Israeli and American representatives sign the memorandum of understanding on cybersecurity cooperation, Jerusalem, Aug. 23, 2022.

Israel-US sign cybersecurity agreement

Adamant to increase bilateral and international cooperation against cyber ransom and other cyberthreats, Israel and the United States signed Aug. 23 a memorandum of understanding to that effect.

KHALED DESOUKI/AFP via Getty Images

Egypt builds virtual hospital to reach remote Sinai patients

Cairo is building a virtual hospital connected to mobile clinics to serve the Bedouin communities in South Sinai.

A Palestinian youth collects plastic and iron from a landfill in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza Strip, Jan. 17, 2022.

Young Gazan produces diesel, gasoline from plastic waste

Amid increasing fuel prices in the Gaza Strip, a citizen and his brothers from the city of Beit Hanoun managed to produce diesel and gasoline from plastic waste.

Abu Dhabi

Emirati AI firm G42 launches $10 billion investment fund

The UAE is seeking to become a leader in artificial intelligence, and has also successfully attracted some fintech firms.

United Arab Emirates

Gulf region flips bullish on crypto mining, but can it be green?

Sebastian Castelier

Sebastian Castelier

In Dubai, reporting on regional business

A man stands near solar panels displayed at a shop in the town of Dana, Syria.

Another solar project completed in Syria

Solar power is slowly growing in both government and rebel-controlled parts of Syria. The war-torn country suffers from electricity cuts.

Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian speaks during a joint press conference with his Russian counterpart at the Foreign Ministry headquarters, Tehran, Iran, June 23, 2022.

Iran uses cryptocurrency for import order

After originally cracking down on cryptocurrencies, which have the potential to help evade sanctions, Iranian authorities later decided to authorize them for imports.

(L to R) Moderator and Internet entrepreneur Yossi Vardi, Chemi Peres, Managing General Partner and Co-Founder of Pitango Venture Capital, Edouard Cukierman, founder and Managing Partner of Catalyst Investments, Adam Singolda, founder and CEO of Taboola, Amit Lang, Director General at the Israeli Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Zack Weisfeld, founder and General Manager of Microsoft Global Accelerators and Reem Younis, co-founder of Alpha Omega attend the session "Startup nation - how Israel Does it" at

Israel’s venture ecosystem to weather global crunch

Daniel Frankenstein

Daniel Frankenstein

UAE Masdar

UAE’s Masdar to work on solar and wind power projects in Tanzania

The UAE is diversifying its economy and seeking closer relations with several sub-Saharan African states.