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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

KHALED DESOUKI/AFP via Getty Images

European bank invests in rideshare app to keep Egyptian women safe

The European Bank of Reconstruction and Development is investing $10 million in the startup Swvl, which operates in Egypt.

AL-MONITOR Staff

By AL-MONITOR Staff

LUDOVIC MARIN/AFP via Getty Images

Israel freezes spyware exports

Israel's Defense Ministry has taken multiple steps to control the exportation of spyware, but the Pegasus affair continues to grow in Israel and abroad.

Israel technology

Israeli tech companies worry for their Ukrainian programmers

As tensions between Russia and Ukraine intensify, Israeli high-tech companies are worried over the safety of thousands of Ukrainian programmers.

Saudi tech

Saudi IT industry to work with German software firm SAP on cloud technology

The memorandum of understanding is the latest to come out of the LEAP technology forum in Riyadh, and reflects the kingdom’s diversification efforts.

An Israeli air force mechanic inspects an F-16 fighter at Ovda air force base north of the Israeli city of Eilat, on Oct. 24, 2021.

Israel to use laser air defense system within year, PM says

Naftali Bennett also said he hopes ongoing talks over Iran's nuclear program "end without agreement."

Saudi Arabia tech

Saudi Arabia to invest billions in metaverse, blockchain technology

The kingdom, which is seeking to reduce its dependence on oil, made the announcement at the futuristic LEAP technology forum in Riyadh.

NSO Israel

Israel police accused of using Pegasus spyware to hack phones of civilians

An investigative report by Calcalist newspaper claims Israel police has used the NSO-developed spyware Pegasus to hack cell phones of suspected criminals, of witnesses to criminal cases and of activists.

JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images

Israeli entrepreneurs to set up first medical center in Arab city

Entrepreneurs from the Arab city of Sakhnin are done waiting on the government and working with Tel Aviv's Ichilov Hospital to establishment a local medical facility.