The Middle East situation escalates again! Iran names 18 U.S. companies as "targets for sanctions," with major tech giants all on the list.

Cailian Press April 1 (Editor: Niu Zhanlin). According to CCTV News, on Tuesday (March 31) local time, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps issued a statement saying it would designate companies and institutions related to 18 U.S. information and communications technology and artificial intelligence (AI) companies as targets for attacks in the Middle East.

The published list includes several major U.S. technology companies, such as Apple, Google, Meta, and Microsoft, as well as hardware suppliers such as Hewlett-Packard, Intel, IBM, and Cisco. In addition, companies such as Tesla, Nvidia, Oracle, JPMorgan Chase, and Boeing are also on the list.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps classified the above companies as intelligence entities related to the U.S. government, and said that the AI and information and communications technology services provided by these companies are key tools for the U.S. and Israel to plan “terrorist operations” in Iran and target assassination targets.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said that the U.S. government and its Israeli allies have disregarded Iran’s repeated calls to stop “terrorist operations” on its territory, and earlier on Tuesday they once again carried out targeted strikes, resulting in the deaths of multiple Iranian citizens.

The announcement said that starting at 8:00 p.m. Tehran time on April 1, “whenever Iran suffers one terrorist operation, the related facilities of the above companies will be attacked.”

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps also said it advised employees of these companies to leave their workplaces immediately to ensure personal safety. At the same time, residents within a one-kilometer radius around these so-called target companies should evacuate to safe areas as soon as possible.

Since late February, U.S.-Israel military actions against Iran have continued to escalate. Dozens of Iranian senior political and military officials and their family members have been killed in attacks carried out in connection with these actions. Iran has vowed it will retaliate against relevant parties that played key roles in these attacks.

Iran’s above threats are the latest response to U.S.-Israel military actions and to remarks made by U.S. Secretary of Defense Hegseth. Earlier, Hegseth said the next phase of the war against Iran would become clear within the coming days, and warned Iran that if no agreement is reached, the conflict would further escalate.

Hegseth claimed that the Trump administration is still willing to resolve the conflict through negotiations, and that the negotiations are underway and making progress. However, if Iran does not cooperate, the United States is also prepared to continue fighting.

“We have more and more options, while their options are getting fewer and fewer… Within just one month, we have taken the initiative; the coming days will be decisive,” Hegseth said in Washington, “Iran knows it, and they are almost powerless militarily.”

This month-long conflict has spread across the entire Middle East, causing thousands of deaths, disrupting energy supplies, and potentially throwing the global economy into chaos.

Along with issuing the threats, Iran carried out attack drones on the day, striking the communications, telecommunications, and industrial center of Siemens and those of AT&T (American Telephone and Telegraph Company) located in the Ben Gurion International Airport and Haifa areas in Israel. This was also a rehearsal for launching attacks against more technology companies.

Earlier that day, Iran’s capital, Tehran, was hit by two rounds of airstrikes. Explosions occurred at multiple locations and caused temporary power outages in some areas. In addition, the U.S.-Israel attack on Iran’s largest island, Qeshm, caused a seawater desalination plant on the local side to be completely paralyzed, making it impossible to repair in the short term.

U.S. President Trump threatened on Monday that if Iran does not immediately reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a key global oil shipping corridor, and reach a peace agreement as soon as possible, the U.S. would “completely destroy” Iran’s energy facilities.

Despite the ongoing month-long U.S.-Israel strikes, Iran remains defiant. It received a peace proposal put forward by the United States through intermediary channels, but an Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson said these proposals are “out of touch with reality, illogical, and demand too much.”

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