Technology - AL-MONITOR: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

technology

Technology

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

A man types on a keyboard next to the Intel products for sale in Beijing, on April 08, 2008.

US-China tech rivalry hits Israel as Intel cancels Tower Semiconductor deal

The companies canceled the deal after failing to obtain regulatory approval from China.

In this photo illustration, the messaging service Telegram app is seen on a mobile phone on Jan. 11, 2021.

Iraqi militias continue to use Telegram despite block

Iraq’s state media channel switched to the Israeli-founded Viber in response to the ban. Telegram is popular with protesters and militias alike in Iraq.

KAZUHIRO NOGI/AFP via Getty Images

Japan’s Nomura subsidiary receives crypto license in UAE

The crypto sector is booming in the United Arab Emirates thanks to clear regulations on virtual assets.

JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images

Amid internal crisis, Israel fights to retain hi-tech industry with tax benefits

The Israeli government has issued a new law to encourage investment in tech startups as firms consider fleeing the country on the back of the judicial overhaul.

A physical imitation of the Bitcoin cryptocurrency is seen, Paris, France, April 26, 2021.

Bahraini cryptocurrency firm Rain to operate in UAE

Cryptocurrency is growing in both the UAE and Bahrain amid regulatory challenges and market downturn.

Kuwait prohibits all cryptocurrency use in new virtual assets ban

Users of cryptocurrencies and other virtual assets in Kuwait would be subject to Kuwait’s 2013 money laundering and terrorist financing laws.

Israeli Tech

Israeli tech at risk of not joining global industry recovery

Israeli tech shares are sharply underperforming their US peers.

David Rosenberg

David Rosenberg

In Tel Aviv, reporting on business and tech

Dubai crypto authority suspends BitOasis

The cryptocurrency platform BitOasis' license was suspended by Dubai's VARA due to noncompliance of licensing requirements.

United Arab Emirates

This photo illustration created in Washington, DC, on July 6, 2023, shows an image of Elon Musk reflected in the opening page of Threads, an Instagram app. Twitter threatened to sue Meta just hours after the Instagram parent company launched Threads, an app it hopes will beat out the struggling site owned by Elon Musk. In a letter to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, published by online news outlet Semafor on July 6, 2023, Musk lawyer Alex Spiro accused the company of "unlawful misappropriation of Twitter's trade s

Arab users flock to Meta's Threads as it takes on Twitter

Threads has seen a variety of new users from the Middle East since its launch Wednesday including influencers and even heads of state.

Employees work at headquarters housing Alibaba, Iran's largest online travel booking service, in the capital Tehran on February 17, 2020 - Iran's startup sector, which began to develop in the 2000s, took off from 2013. But new technology and the use of smart phones were hit hard by the reinstatement of US sanctions in 2018, after the United States withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal. An unexpected effect of the sanctions has been that Iranian entrepreneurs have seized the opportunity to launch startups. (Ph

Iran needs drastic reforms to mitigate brain drain's impact on economy, tech sector

Deteriorating socioeconomic conditions and the absence of a functioning ecosystem for innovation and entrepreneurship are compelling many educated Iranians to migrate.

Bijan Khajehpour

Bijan Khajehpour

In Vienna, reporting on Iranian politics

A man walks near an autonomous 10-seater car during a trial run along Mohammed bin Rashid Boulevard on Sept. 1, 2016.

UAE awards China’s WeRide first license to operate self-driving cars

The UAE permit will allow the Guangzhou-based driving technology company to test its level 4 human-free and fully autonomous vehicles on public roads throughout the emirates.

United Arab Emirates

Saudi Arabia leads AI global index for strategy as Israel tops Mideast rankings

Saudi Arabia topped the global chart for AI government strategy, which measures the depth of national spending commitments and strategies, while other Middle East and North Africa (MENA) states lagged further behind, beginning in 23rd place.