Iran says it will target US tech companies in Middle East
Comments
sheikhnbake
alephnerd
> G42
G42 isn't American - it's Emirati. But it doesn't matter.
Iran is only burning additional bridges with it's neighbors which has only incentivized them to take a much more hardline stance against the Islamic Republic.
The fact that they alienated Qatar last week is truly mindboggling though - it was QatarEnergy that was subsidizing NOIC and Qataris with clan ties in Iran like Saad al Kaabi who were some of the biggest proponents for Qatar-Iran normalization have been sidelined.
It has also now aligned the Gulf States with Ukraine [0], and now reduces Iran to become a mere extension of Russia, and arguably converts this conflict into a second theatre of the Russia-Ukraine War, which in my opinion has become a de facto world war.
[0] - https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/3/28/zelenskyy-signs-air...
seanmcdirmid
Did Iran really have allies in Arab Sunni ruled countries though? Pretty much all of them already see non-Arab Shia Iran as an enemy, and have for a long time. The only real mystery is how the region hasn't imploded already with all the historical tension between these countries.
alephnerd
> Did Iran really have allies in Arab Sunni ruled countries though
Yes. Qatar due to Iran's support of the Thani family during the tumultuous 1990s [0] and the blockade [1], Sudan under Bashir [2] and now under the Army [3], Tunisia [4] due to ties with Ennadha, Algeria until 2025 [5] due to Morocco and Israel's close defense cooperation, and Kuwait due to economic and clan ties [6].
> Pretty much all of them already see non-Arab Shia Iran as an enemy
Only those states directly aligned with Saudi or the UAE (they are not the same team) view Iran with hostility becuase of Saudi Arabia and Iran's perennial rivalry over the MidEast.
[0] - https://www.danielpipes.org/6317/hamad-bin-jasim-bin-jabr-al...
[1] - https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/6/25/iran-hassan-rouhani...
[2] - https://www.files.ethz.ch/isn/166344/235_Bodansky.pdf
[3] - https://www.bic-rhr.com/research/new-old-player-town-sudan-i...
[4] - https://iramcenter.org/en/inside-the-complexity-of-iran-tuni...
[5] - https://nouvellerevuepolitique.fr/hichem-aboud-comment-alger...
[6] - https://web.archive.org/web/20220717062931/http://www.payvan...
mullingitover
> Yes. Qatar
Qatar, the country hosting the Al Udeid Air Base, the biggest US military base in the middle east? That Qatar?
alephnerd
The US only established Al Udeid in 1996.
Iran on the other hand protected the Thani family during the failed 1996 countercoup, as well as collaborated with Qatar on extracting LNG from the Gulf.
In the real world, countries compartamentalize relations and are not binary in nature.
This is how India can both arm Israel [0] as well as transit Hormuz with Iranian backing [1] and continue to operate Chabahar Port [2] despite neighboring Konarak Port being hit [3].
When countries break this norm of compartmentalization, that is when they become actively belligerent.
Also, by this logic (which is flawed), we would be justified in striking Iran, as Iran has aided and abetted Russia in their war against Ukraine, thus Iran can arguably be treated as another front of the larger US-Russia and by extension US-China conflict.
[0] - https://www.aljazeera.com/amp/features/2024/6/26/india-expor...
[1] - https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/india-among-five-nati...
[2] - https://www.financialexpress.com/policy/economy/no-damage-to...
mullingitover
I realize Qatar is in an "it's complicated" relationship, it's just amusing to me that people feign shock that Iran would consider them fair game while omitting the detail of them kinda being a client state hosting a huge US military base.
alephnerd
The thing is, if we accept the norms that Qatar can be targeted for kinetic action by Iran for hosting US assets or by the US for hosting Iranian assets, then that opens a MASSIVE can of worms.
This means Ukraine has the precedent in place to target the Chongqing–Xinjiang–Europe railway in Russia in retaliation for Chinese support of Russia [0].
This also means all of Europe is fair game to be striked by Russia in retaliation for supporting Ukraine [2].
This also means South Korea considering rearming Ukraine [4] due to North Korean involvement in the Ukraine War could make it a direct belligerent against Russia.
This is why sentiments hardened globally and especially amongst Gulf States once they were targeted by Iran.
Accepting that nations like Qatar, Turkiye, and Azerbaijan that have an avowed policy of compartmentalized relations are fair game to strike means we have to accept we are in a de facto World War.
The attempted strike on Diego Garcia was similarly destabilizing in it's implications [5]
[0] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chongqing%E2%80%93Xinjiang%E2%...
[1] - https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/12/10/zelenskyy-warns-ru...
[2] - https://european-union.europa.eu/priorities-and-actions/eu-s...
[3] - https://apnews.com/article/trump-iran-saudi-arabia-mbs-gulf-...
[4] - https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/foreignaffairs/20260220/korea-m...
maxglute
There is no can of worms.
Hosting US assets actively being used in war vs Iran = being active co-belligerents. Host countries no longer neutral when they don't adhere to duty of abstention (Hague Convention V). This not even Iran using deniable proxies, this is Qatar allowing sovereign territory to facilitate attack on Iran, which unambiguously makes them legitimate target. Ditto with Diego Garcia.
In the same way railway in RU already legitimate target for UKR because in RU soil. If EU sending out sorties from NATO bases to hit RU then they too would be active belligerents. There's no compartmentalizing using territory to shoot someone else.
alephnerd
The norms of compartmentalization I have mentioned are orthogonal to The Hague conventions and frankly they do not matter in a world which has de facto moved away from being rules based.
Additonally, by that logic it is acceptable for Ukraine to conduct kinetic action against Chinese assets in Russia, which they have held back against despite Chinese support for the Russian MIC.
Also, I told you years ago to not chat with me on this platform. We do not align and I have found it tiresome discussing with you. I have ignored and steered away from commenting with you and I ask you to do the same for me.
maxglute
> it is acceptable
It's acceptable, as I said, targets in RU soil legitimate. Of course the UKR has their own calculation on what PRC interests in RU they're able to hit that's not counterproductive - PRC support for RU MIC can be much more than what it is.
Even if we accept moving from "rule based" doesn't discount realist/rational based which rule based is derived from. It is not hard to understand allowing your house to be used to shoot at someone else = your house is now legitimate target. Expecting immunity under those conditions is strategic fantasy, especially when IR hitting GCC countries is arguably not counter-productive.
seanmcdirmid
That is useful, thanks! Iran always seems like they have more enemies than friends, but I guess I overplayed the Shia/Sunni divide.
alephnerd
> Iran always seems like they have more enemies than friends
Because the core of the Iranian Revolution is quite similar to Maoism [0] but also very interested in exporting the revolution abroad.
You have to remember that the Iranian Revolution only happened in 1979, and most of Iran's modern leadership were foot soldiers and even leadership during Iran's Cultural Revolution [1] in the 1980s (eg. Rouhani, Larijani, Aref, Arafi).
Imagine if China today was ruled by active Red Guard, or if the 1976 autocoup failed - that's Iran, but with a dose of Islamism.
> I guess I overplayed the Shia/Sunni divide.
Yep. In fact, a number of Sunni states saw contemporary attempts to mimic the Iranian Revolution such as in Saudi Arabia with the Kaaba Siege, the Afghan Revolution in 1979 which led to the Soviet Occupation, and the burning the US Embassy in Islamabad in 1979 [2].
[0] - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47108706
[1] - https://fa.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%82%D9%84%D8%A7...
[2] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1979_U.S._embassy_burning_in_I...
seanmcdirmid
I took a Chinese course in Beijing with the son of an Iranian diplomat as a classmate and we did not gel, but frankly thats my only experience. The funny thing was that the guy was a huge womanizer/drinker, which I also hear is normal for Iran. Iranians actually seem quite liberal by Muslim standards (if it wasn't for the whole revolutionary guard/cleric leadership, again by my limited maybe outdated experience), which is weird when our side has the KSA, one of the most conservative countries on earth.
It is a pity really, Iran is on my bucket list for food, culture, and natural beauty. More so than any other country in that area, its too bad about the whole "death to America" thing.
alephnerd
> son of an Iranian diplomat as a classmate and we did not gel, but frankly thats my only experience. The funny thing was that the guy was a huge womanizer/drinker, which I also hear is normal for Iran
It's similar to China in that regard - rhetoric doesn't matter and you always look out for number one.
There's a reason why socially speaking China's Harvard remains Harvard even despite Peking and Tsinghua becoming global tier institutions, and why leadership who should supposedly be earning a couple thousand dollars a year are chauffeured in Audi A8s with full protocol in Beijing.
Most normal people are chill and average, but there's still a whole separate world of people within a small selectorate.
> which is weird when our side has the KSA, one of the most conservative countries on earth
KSA has socially liberalized as well, and the same style of hijab as you would see in Iran is the norm.
That said, unlike Iran's incumbent leadership, MBS and much of the governmental apparatus is highly likely to liberalize in the UAE manner in the next 3-5 years. The main blocker has been succession - MBS isn't officially king yet, as King Salman continues to reign.
That said, it would still remain an authoritarian state.
> It is a pity really, Iran is on my bucket list for food, culture, and natural beauty. More so than any other country in that area, its too bad about the whole "death to America" thing
Yep. It is what it is.
nullocator
> The fact that they alienated Qatar last week is truly mindboggling though
I mean Qatar did just give a really expensive plane to the guy who unilaterally assassinated the Iranian supreme leader and is bombing their country to smithereens.
alephnerd
First, your argument makes Iran a valid target because Iran has been directly supplying weaponry for Russia to use against Ukraine. If Iran is justified to strike Qatar for supporting the US via basing and financing, then the US is justified in striking Iran as they are supporting Russia against Ukraine with financing and armaments.
Secondly, Iran had very few allies in the region, and Qatar was their last major one who could act as a good faith interlocutor.
Now Iran has to negotiate with the US via Pakistan, whose leadership has been setting the US's Iran policy [0][1][2] in favor of an armed approach following the short Pakistan-Iran War in 2024 [3].
We can keep perpetually striking Iran. It doesn't matter to us and midterms be damned. But Iran has lost their last contact with whom they could negotiate an offramp, and will have to spend hundreds of billions of dollars and at least decade to rebuild.
The maximalist approach (which was always stupid) won't occur, but the realistic win (ie. a deindustrialized Iran that cannot threaten a nuclear program for at least a decade) is successful. I even mentioned this would be the end result before this happened [4].
Qatar was the last major Gulf State that was pushing against this approach, but they have now silently aligned with Israel, Saudi, and the UAE.
And as I've mentioned before, HNers heavily overestimate the influence and power civilian leadership such as a President let alone their cabinet members and other Senate confirmed members have on actual policymaking. In action (and even in this administration) policy is managed upwards.
[0] - https://www.intelligenceonline.com/middle-east-and-africa/20...
[1] - https://www.intelligenceonline.com/middle-east-and-africa/20...
[2] - https://www.intelligenceonline.com/asia-pacific/2025/07/09/p...
[3] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2024_Iran%E2%80%93Pakistan_con...
A_D_E_P_T
Do any of those US tech companies have large manufacturing footprints in the region? Intel has a couple of fabs in Israel, but presumably those are on the smaller side? Nvidia's work in the region is mostly R&D, isn't it?
In any case, though manufacturing may not be too badly affected, if the Iranians can pull this off, they would discourage further investment in Israel and raise the economic costs of the war for the US, which would be an geostrategic Iranian win of the "low hanging fruit" variety.
alephnerd
> US tech companies have large manufacturing footprints in the region
Yes in Israel and part of the West Bank (the Mellanox founder tried to expand Nvidia's footprint in the region - as in hiring in the West Bank and Gaza - until his daughter was murdered at Nova).
Outside of Israel, not really excluding data centers which are leased.
That said, most tech companies have already been operating in Israel for decades under constant barrages already (eg. Had a family friend who was working at the Intel fab when Hezbollah was attempting to shell it during the 2006 war and the AWS skyscraper was targeted by an ISIS suicide bomber 2 years ago but foiled).
In most cases, we in the US were already being targeted by Iranian APTs before this conflict and before 2023.
> if the Iranians can pull this off, they would discourage further investment in Israel
For much of tech, the calculus hasn't changed for investing in Israel. It's hard to find similar ecosystems for cybersecurity, defense tech, chip design, and some aspects of material sciences.
And those regions that are complementary (eg. Czechia, Poland, India), the companies are either Israeli operated or Israeli funded.
Computer0
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gryphonclaw
Is this really an appropriate comment for HN? Justifying the murder of someone as some kind of twisted moral lesson for her father?
spaghetdefects
I think it highlights the real and moral risks to doing business in Israel. Israel was a state created by ethnic cleansing, it was never a good idea to attempt to create a tech industry there. Hopefully Iran reverses many of these poorly made decisions from tech giants.
bigyabai
All the more important he reflect. Don't raise your children in an apartheid state, if you have principles and money then leave.
cindyllm
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gulfofamerica
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ElevenLathe
Has anyone else been having major reliability issues in me-south-1 since the attacks there? I've had to field several inquiries at work where the answer seems to be "sorry, there's a war on -- pick a different region".
jprd
Yes. Both me-south-1 and me-central-1 have been _heavily_ impacted/disrupted for nearly a month now due to drone strikes on infra.
pm90
The problem with accepting military work is that foreign governments will now consider you a legitimate military target.
JumpCrisscross
> foreign governments will now consider you a legitimate military target
Iran has been very liberal with what it considers military targets. There is no evidence rejecting military work has protected anyone from it.
vkou
Iran has been very patient with not striking American assets in surrounding countries in 2025. Their responses against an unprecedented assault on them were very limited.
That patience earned them another, bigger attack against them in 2026.
If Israel were attacked two years back to back like that, with the second attack killing its prime minister, it would have burned every belligerent country around it to ash without any consideration for whom they are killing, and the world wouldn't bat an eye.
In fact, they did just that in response to a much smaller attack, and the world didn't bat an eye. A quarter million dead and counting, many of the killings being straight-up, no ambiguity war crimes. Strange how they get to inflict disproportionate violence in retaliation with no consequences.
sysguest
well dance festival is a 'military target' to them
fakedang
Somehow with all the thingamajigs that the Israeli apparatus has, from spy networks to informants at the upper levels of the IRGC, and a heavily militarized population, and a heavily fortified border along both the West Bank and Gaza (even more than the Jordanian or Egyptian borders), somehow they still couldn't detect and stop a breach of their barricades.... Hmm.....
And let's not forget, all of this happened right when protests in the streets against Netanyahu were at their highest levels.
Computer0
If I found a group of terrorist sympathizers invading my property and dancing on it I wouldn't be very empathetic to them.
JumpCrisscross
> If I found a group of terrorist sympathizers invading my property and dancing on it I wouldn't be very empathetic to them
But it would be your choice to commit terrorism back at them. Plenty of people across history have chosen both ways. It tends to go much better for one group over the other.
spaghetdefects
I don't think that's "terrorism" as much as it is self defense. The Haitian Slave Revolt and Indigenous American Pueblo Revolts come to mind as analogous military actions that produced positive results.
JumpCrisscross
> don't think that's "terrorism" as much as it is self defense
Everyone says this. If October 7 had limited itself to military targets, this would have been different. If current polling showed Gazans pushing for only military retaliation, I think things would be different.
Everyone has the right to self defense. But everyone also gets judged by how they do it.
> Haitian Slave Revolt
Claimed territory with a plan for maneouvre. Not particularly comparable outside minor tactical elements.
> Indigenous American Pueblo Revolts come to mind
This is a good analogy. I’ll have to read up on it more. To wit, however, they eventually accepted the new—awful, unfair and racist, I may add, but survivable and superior to the alternative of endless war—status quo.
spaghetdefects
> This is a good analogy. I’ll have to read up on it more. To wit, however, they eventually accepted the new—awful, unfair and racist, I may add, but survivable and superior to the alternative of endless war—status quo.
Well the Spanish returned and ultimately subjugated them but it's considered the reason that the South West was able to retain its indigenous culture and language to a degree not seen elsewhere.
Mind you this was 1680, which kind of brings into perspective how barbaric the Zionists have been to essentially recreate one of the greatest crimes in human history hundreds of years later, with a supposed framework of human rights that had developed since then.
laughing_man
The Iranians have considered anyone doing business with the Israelis a "legitimate military target" since 1979.
Computer0
To be fair I consider those people doing business with israelis legitimate military targets as well.
laughing_man
So you think a foreign distributer for some random Israeli agricultural product is a legitimate target? That's disturbing.
josefritzishere
It's been said elsewhere but... when you kick a hornets nest, it's the hornets who decide when that fight is over.
mnmalst
Or all hornets are dead.
PHGamer
as if they weren't targeting anything valuable already.
foragerdev
as if they started the war, as if they killed their leaders themselves. Ofc they are being boomed in the desert, have not lost anything. US and Isreal has the most valuable things or only them considered human beings? Oh, rest of the people living in the world, they should be grateful to US and Isreal to let them live.
SirFatty
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sheikhnbake
The iranian government/IRGC isn't innocent but remember that its the regular people, the working class of Iran that is actually suffering further because of hostilities initiated by US/Israel
JumpCrisscross
> remember that its the regular people, the working class of Iran that is actually suffering further because of hostilities initiated by US/Israel
This is true of any war. That’s damning for the party that starts a war of choice. But it’s no vindication for the regime that’s built itself up as a regional pest, including sponsor of actual terrorism against ordinary people, for years.
foragerdev
yes, rascal Iran, placed itself in the middle of US Airbases.
blhcar
Better for public relations than hitting oil and gas, if they manage no casualties.
I'm sure some people will paraphrase Radoslav Sikorski: "Thank you, Iran!"
ThePowerOfDirge
They hardly pay taxes in the U.S. so they deserve no protection. In fact, I'd encourage Iran to attack them. You didn't pay? You're delinquent? No I will not protect you, ya gotta pay.
whattheheckheck
The us cant even protect its own military assets...
spaghetdefects
Also, why are US corporations operating in Israel? I think Iran is justified in their actions but also feel it benefits us in the US to have US corporations hire here instead of in Israel. It also removes the moral hazard of having to work with an apartheid state engaged in a genocide.
VirusNewbie
WTF, i'm going to get paged because some Iranian dude wants to take out a fiber line?
drekipus
They're defending themselves.
If you don't want this, tell your government to put an end to the war
Slapping5552
Lashing out against basically everyone is not "defending themselves" When my house gets vandalized by this neighborhood rascal, I don't defend myself by throwing rocks at my entire neighborhood
sph
Boo woo, why should not expect to be bombed back when you're at war with someone?
spaghetdefects
Iran is attacking the military that's preemptively attacked them. It's the US and Israel that have placed antagonistic military installations throughout the Middle East.
whattheheckheck
It's strategic in these times where international law has been evidently not respected by the major powers
spaghetdefects
If Iran bombs Palantir, they're going to be winning the PR war even more than they already are. In fact it would be a huge service to US citizens and people around the globe to eliminate this terroristic spy operation. Oracle as well would be helpful as Larry Ellison has create an extremely concerning consolidation of MSM in the US.
Henchman21
Just... what does it say about a person who reads LotR and then thinks "I'll name my company after a corrupted magical artifact"? The intent to do evil is right there in the name I think.
aaron695
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h4kunamata
Good!
The world is sick of US tech companies causing harm, and yet the US gets mad when China does the same.
This is also exposing how in 2026, companies do not have backup plans or high availability for the matter.
The AWS datacenter they took down recently, many services stopped working altogether. You would expect companies to have some fallback plan or something, even if running slower due to latency instead of going offline entirely.
I am pretty sure more people are supporting Iran to take down US techs datacenters. US techs for a long time has become the biggest evil within our digital world.
Thankfully, Steam alone made people see Linux as a better alternative to Windows, so did other open-source projects. Visa/MasterCard being ditched, Social Media and other techs like Google going under also.
What a beatufil transition to witness.
cindyllm
[dead]
> The statement named Cisco, HP, Intel, Oracle, Microsoft, Apple, Google, Meta, IBM, Dell, Palantir, Nvidia, JP Morgan, Tesla, GE, Spire Solution, G42 and Boeing
https://www.intellinews.com/irgc-threatens-to-strike-us-tech...