Iran says it will attack 17 American tech companies in Middle East by April 1

Key Points:

• Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has threatened to target 17 American technology companies and one Emirati firm in the Middle East starting April 1, accusing them of aiding U.S. "terrorist operations" against Iran.
• The targeted companies include major tech and AI firms such as Cisco, Microsoft, Apple, Google, Meta, IBM, and Palantir, with the IRGC urging tech employees to leave their workplaces immediately to avoid harm.
• This warning follows a recent IRGC-linked news agency report identifying 30 Big Tech locations across the Middle East, including in Dubai and Tel Aviv, as "enemy technology infrastructure" due to their involvement in AI development and cloud services linked to military activities.
• Several targeted offices allegedly support Israeli military and intelligence operations, with companies like Amazon, Google, Microsoft, IBM, and Palantir implicated in providing technology and training to Israeli forces, as highlighted in a UN report on human rights in occupied Palestine.
• The IRGC has previously claimed responsibility for attacks on Amazon data centers in the UAE and Bahrain, framing these strikes as efforts to disrupt infrastructure supporting hostile military and intelligence activities in the region.