Iran says will target Apple, Google and Meta if more of its leaders are killed

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said on Tuesday that they would target leading US technology firms like Apple, Google and Meta if more Iranian leaders were killed in “targeted assassinations”.“These companies, starting from 8pm Tehran time 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 threat comes as US 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.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”.Commuters ride past a banner honouring Iran’s late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran on Tuesday. Photo: AFPAs 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.