Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced on Tuesday, March 31, 2026, that it will begin targeting American-based technology companies operating in the Middle East, stating what it considers “legitimate targets” are “gradually expanding.” The group listed Apple, Google, Meta, Microsoft, IBM, Cisco, Tesla, and JPMorgan Chase among its intended victims.
In a statement released Tuesday, the IRGC claimed U.S. forces and their Israeli allies have ignored repeated warnings about terrorist operations, resulting in Iranian casualties. It asserted that American information technology and artificial intelligence companies are central to tracking terror targets, stating: “Since the main element in designing and tracking terror targets are American ICT and AI companies, in response to this terrorist operation, from now on the main institutions effective in terrorist operations will be our legitimate targets.”
The group also alleged approximately 18 U.S.-based companies operate as intelligence assets for the United States. Experts note it remains unclear whether the IRGC intends to target retail locations of these firms outside the Middle East, such as those in Europe or the United States. Evidence suggests a number of Hezbollah and IRGC-linked individuals migrated to the United States under former President Joe Biden’s administration.
Recent incidents underscore growing security concerns: Ayman Mohamad Ghazali, a Lebanese national naturalized as a U.S. citizen with Hezbollah ties, perpetrated a ramming attack on a Jewish synagogue in Michigan where he was the only fatality. In the United Kingdom, individuals suspected of connections to Iran’s Quds Force were arrested for firebombing ambulances serving Jewish communities in Golders Green.
