تصعيد إقليمي: بنوك الخليج تخلي مكاتبها وهجمات على سفن هرمز

After an overnight attack on a bank, Iranian officials signaled a new willingness to target economic centers and banks with ties to the United States.

مباشر: اتخذت بنوك عالمية تدابير احترازية في الدوحة ودبي مع تصاعد التوترات الإقليمية بسبب الحرب الإيرانية، وذلك لضمان سلامة موظفيها واستمرار تقديم الخدمات المالية. وبحسب "رويترز" وأغلقت بنك HSBC جميع فروعه في قطر حتى إشعار آخر، بينما طلبت سيتي غروب من موظفيها في دبي الابتعاد عن مكاتبهم والعمل عن بُعد. كما أصدرت جولدمان ساكس تعليمات للموظفين بالحصول على إذن قبل التوجه إلى مكاتبها في الشرق الأوسط، وطلب ستاندرد تشارترد من موظفيه في مركز دبي المالي مغادرة مكاتبهم والعمل عن بُعد. جاءت هذه الإجراءات بعد إعلان القيادة العسكرية الإيرانية المشتركة أن البنوك والمؤسسات المالية أصبحت أهدافاً محتملة في الشرق الأوسط. وأكدت البنوك أن هذه الخطوات تأتي في إطار الحرص على سلامة الموظفين، مع استمرار تقديم الخدمات المالية بشكل طبيعي عبر ترتيبات العمل عن بُعد. وتأتي هذه التحركات في اليوم الثاني عشر للحرب الأميركية-الإسرائيلية الإيرانية، وسط ضبابية حول مسار الصراع، مع استمرار الهجمات والصواريخ والطائرات المسيّرة الإيرانية، وإغلاق مضيق هرمز أمام حركة الشحن، ما يزيد المخاوف على أسواق الطاقة والاقتصاد العالمي.

Major US technology companies have been named as potential targets as the war between Iran, Israel, and the United States begins to spill into the digital infrastructure that powers modern economies. Iranian state-linked media this week published a list of offices and infrastructure run by US companies with Israeli links whose technology has been used for military applications. According to Al Jazeera, the companies include Google, Microsoft, Palantir, IBM, Nvidia, and Oracle. Many of these companies operate regional offices, cloud infrastructure, or data-center operations across the Gulf, including in the United Arab Emirates. None have released public statements on this development. The list was published by the semi-official, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps–linked Tasnim News Agency alongside a warning that the scope of the conflict could expand beyond traditional military targets. “As the scope of the regional war expands to infrastructure war, the scope of Iran’s legitimate targets expands,” Tasnim News Agency reported. Last week, Iranian drone strikes damaged Amazon Web Services data centers in the UAE and Bahrain, disrupting services and exposing the vulnerability of physical tech infrastructure in the region. The warning followed Iranian reports of an Israeli strike on a bank building in Tehran linked to Bank Sepah. Iranian officials have described it as an attack on economic infrastructure. Iranian state media said the incident justified expanding potential targets to include US and Israeli economic and banking interests across the region. “With this illegitimate and uncommon action, the enemy is forcing our hand to target economic centers and banks linked to the US and Zionist regime in the region,” said a spokesperson for the IRGC-owned Khatam al-Anbiya Headquarters. He warned civilians to stay one kilometer away from banks. Tech in Warfare The tech companies listed by Iran have all been accused of supplying their technology for use by the Israeli military to different extents, though most have refuted these claims. Palantir openly agreed to a strategic partnership with Israel to “help the country’s war effort,” including supplying “advanced technology in support of war-related missions,” Palantir executive vice president Josh Harris told Bloomberg. Outside of potential military applications, many of the named companies operate cloud platforms, artificial intelligence tools, and data systems used by large organizations in the region. As warfare becomes increasingly dependent on digital systems, from satellite data to AI-powered intelligence analysis, the infrastructure behind those systems has more strategic significance. But the cloud is not the only digital system being pulled into the conflict. Across the region, electronic warfare targeting GPS signals has surged, disrupting navigation systems used by aircraft, ships, and everyday smartphone apps. Technology companies operating in the region have already begun adjusting their operations. Several US firms with offices across the Gulf have asked employees to work remotely or limit travel as the conflict escalated, according to media reports. Some companies have also activated contingency plans following infrastructure disruptions linked to drone strikes and airspace closures.

<a href="https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiakFVX3lxTFBmVkZnckM3bXJkSzBxemxpV0ZwX2dIdzI0ZWpiU3c0R1M5Q1Q2YUtyS0dmcFp2Vkg4ZXBsQXdIbVZFMVhIbHQ1WEpJMUdVUmFGSEUzbS1aczFzSmY3WURVOXJEbXhlWUF2dVE?oc=5" target="_blank">الحكومة الأمريكية تختار شركة تشب لقيادة برنامج التأمين على السفن في مضيق هرمز</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;<font color="#6f6f6f">ارقام</font>

Three merchant ships have been struck in and around the strait of Hormuz, including a Thai registered bulk carrier that caught fire after leaving a port in the UAE, forcing crew members to evacuate for their safety. The Mayuree Naree was struck on Wednesday by “two projectiles of unknown origin”, its owners said, as it sailed about 11 nautical miles north of Oman, marking the end of a four-day lull of attacks in the strategic waterway. A fire broke out in the ship’s engine room and had to be extinguished. Twenty crew members were evacuated by the Omani navy, while a skeleton crew of three remained on the damaged vessel awaiting rescue. The strait has in effect been closed since the beginning of the month after the US and Israeli attack on Iran prompted Tehran to retaliate across the region. Only a handful of vessels are confirmed as having risked making the crossing. About one-fifth of the world’s oil and gas passes through the strait, and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said earlier this week it would not allow even “one litre of oil” to leave the region if US-Israeli attacks continued. The two other vessels struck were only lightly affected. ONE Majesty, a Japanese container ship, was hit by an unknown projectile 28 miles (45km) north-west of Ras Al Khaimah in the UAE, sustaining minor damage above the waterline. A bulk carrier, the Marshall Islands-flagged Star Gwyneth, was struck about 30 miles (50km) north-west of Dubai, to the west of the strait, damaging its hull in the hold area while at anchor. In both cases, no serious crew injuries were reported. “Get ready for oil to be $200 a barrel, because the oil price depends on regional security, which you have destabilised,” said Ebrahim Zolfaqari, a spokesperson for Iran’s military command. Oil prices, which shot up briefly to nearly $120 a barrel on Monday, have since settled at about $90 amid hopes the war will end shortly. US media reported Iran had begun laying a dozen or so mines in the strait, though the French president, Emmanuel Macron, said he had had no confirmation of this. Such an operation would most likely be carried out using naval or Revolutionary Guards speed vessels or any midget submarines that had survived repeated US targeting. Sidharth Kaushal, a naval expert with the Royal United Services Institute, said: “Mining is a threat, not because the Iranians can physically close the strait (most mine-laying vessels can be struck, especially if they have no traffic to hide in) but rather because it only takes a few to keep insurers nervous.” On Tuesday, Donald Trump said in a post on Truth Social that “if Iran has put out any mines in the Hormuz strait, and we have no reports of them doing so, we want them removed, IMMEDIATELY!” Less than two hours later, the US military released unclassified footage of attacks on mine-laying vessels. The US military said it had attacked and destroyed 16 Iranian mine-laying vessels near the strait of Hormuz as part of a broader strategy of knocking out the country’s navy and ability to threaten international shipping. Adm Bradley Cooper, the commander of the US Central Command, said the US had struck 5,500 targets in Iran, an increase of 500 on the previous day, and “more than 60 ships”. Iranian civilians were warned to stay away from civilian ports, where it said that the country’s military was operating. There have been initial discussions about the US navy convoying oil tankers through the strait, but there has been no sign of a patrol mission emerging as the conflict remains at a high pitch. France had said it wants to participate in a convoy once the worst fighting subsides but UK has suggested it believes air protection more relevant. At a defence department briefing, the top US general, Dan Caine, addressed the possibility of the US navy escorting vessels through the strait. “We’re looking at a range of options there, and we’ll figure out how to solve problems as they come to us,” he told reporters. When asked on Wednesday how the US intended to ensure security in the strait, Trump told reporters: “I think you’re going to see great safety, and it’s going to be very, very quickly,” but he gave no details. View image in fullscreen Gen Dan Caine said the US was looking at a range of options for escorting vessels through the strait of Hormuz. Photograph: US Navy Photo/Sipa/Shutterstock The strait at Hormuz is just 21 miles (34km) wide at its narrowest point, with the shipping lane just 2 miles (3.2km) wide in either direction. Oil and gas exports from countries bordering the Persian Gulf typically need to pass through the strait to reach export markets around the world though there are some alternatives. On Tuesday, Amin Nasser, the president and chief executive of Saudi Arabia’s oil company Aramco, said tankers were being rerouted to avoid the strait, and that the company’s east-west pipeline would reach its full capacity this week of 7m barrels a day being brought to the Red Sea port of Yanbu.