- The US military is prepared to counter any Iranian aggression against American tech firms
- Iran's Revolutionary Guards threatened attacks on 18 US tech companies over targeted killings
- The Guards named firms including Apple, Google, Intel, Microsoft, Tesla, and Nvidia
The Donald Trump administration has responded to Iran's threat of attacking American tech giants, such as Apple and Google, in the region, saying the US military is prepared to thwart any potential aggression from Tehran.
"The United States military is and was prepared to curtail any attacks by Iran, as evidenced by the 90 per cent drop in ballistic missile and drone attacks by the terrorist regime," said a White House official, who does not wish to be named, according to a Reuters report.
Iran's Warning
The statement came in response to Iran's Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) warning of targeting US technology firms if more Iranian leaders were killed in "targeted assassinations".
"These companies, starting from 8:00 pm Tehran time (10:00 pm IST) on Wednesday, April 1, should expect the destruction of their relevant units in exchange for every assassination in Iran," the Guards said in a statement listing the names of 18 companies it alleged were complicit in the killing of officials.
"We advise the employees of these institutions to immediately leave their workplaces to preserve their lives," it added.
The Guards' statement said the US government and tech giants had "ignored our repeated warnings regarding the necessity" of halting operations targeting top Iranian officials, alleging that the tech firms are the "main element in designing and tracking assassination targets".
As a result, these 18 companies -- who also included Intel, Microsoft and Oracle, as well as electric car company Tesla, analytics firm Palantir, and chip giant Nvidia -- risk retaliation, the statement said.
"Companies that actively participate in terrorist designs will face reciprocal action for every targeted assassination," the statement said.
The warning did not specify where the action would take place, but it added, "Residents around these terrorist companies in all countries of the region are also advised to leave their locations within a one-kilometre radius and move to a safe place."
The threat comes as President Donald Trump says he is conducting diplomacy aimed at putting an end to the conflict while also threatening to amplify the US-Israeli campaign against the Islamic republic.
