Technology

Flag of Iran on a computer binary codes falling from the top and fading away.

Who is Handala, the hacktivist group US ties to Iranian intelligence?

Handala Hack Team portrays itself as a pro-Palestinian group but is widely believed to be linked to Iranian intelligence.

People sit in a cafe outside the Apple Store in Dubai on May 8, 2025.

Iran names US tech, finance firms in new Middle East threat list

Firms listed as potential targets included Oracle, Microsoft, Apple, Google, Meta, IBM, Palantir and Nvidia, while banking giant JPMorgan and UAE-based AI firm G42 were also listed.

FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP via Getty Images

Gulf AI deals continues to lure investors despite US-Iran war

Blackstone committed $250 million to a payment infrastructure platform in Abu Dhabi as the US investment firm's president lauded the UAE's strong investment credentials despite the conflict.

Traffic rolls along a main throughfare under a banner with images of past and present leaders that reads in Farsi, "Domino fall", as daily life returns to the streets following nationwide protests, in the Iranian capital Tehran on January 19, 2026. Demonstrations sparked in late December by anger over economic hardship exploded into protests widely seen as the biggest challenge to the Iranian leadership in years. Limited internet access briefly returned in Iran before dropping again, a monitor said January

Analysis

Iran’s longest-ever internet blackout leaves 99% offline: What to know

Facing a historic internet blackout, Iranians are locked in a struggle with authorities to find loopholes to get around this communications crackdown, leading to "shutdowns within a shutdown."

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Latest News

What we know about UAE blocking X accounts accused of misinformation

Attendees take a picture of French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe as he delivers a speech during a visit to the Louvre Abu Dhabi Museum on February 10, 2018, on Saadiyat island in the Emirati capital, to launch the French-Emirati "Year of Cultural Dialogue". (Photo by KARIM SAHIB / AFP) (Photo by KARIM SAHIB/AFP via Getty Images)

United Arab Emirates

Analysis

India's Modi arrives in Israel as fears grow of US-Iran conflict

PM Netanyahu - X

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

Interview

AI, cybersecurity high on Mideast priorities amid global tech rivalry: Tech Mahindra

A man and woman walk along a promenade overlooking the Burj al-Arab and Dubai skyline on January 4, 2025. (Photo by Giuseppe CACACE / AFP) (Photo by GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP via Getty Images)

Crypto crash collides with UAE’s big bet on digital assets

Participants visit the Token 2049 crypto conference in Dubai on May 1, 2025.

United Arab Emirates

Drones of Abu Dhabi mangroves

Drones can help fight climate change, says Abu Dhabi environment agency

The government department is looking to plant 10 mangroves in Abu Dhabi for every visitor to the COP28 climate conference in Dubai in November.

United Arab Emirates

X Linda Yaccarino

Twitter/X erases thousands of Israel-Hamas posts after EU disinfo warning

The 27-nation bloc has also issued similar ultimatums to Meta and TikTok, imploring the companies to take fake posts about the conflict off their social media platforms.

The launch of a Tracking and Data Relay Satellite from an orbiting spacecraft.

Israel, Azerbaijan announce landmark deal for sale of two satellites

Israel Aerospace Industries and Azeri space agency Azercosmos announced the signing of an agreement for the sale of two Israeli-developed satellites.

Israel, Germany sign $3.5B Arrow 3 deal

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant signed a letter of commitment in Berlin for the sale of the advanced Arrow 3 air defense system, signaling a strengthening of ties between Israel and Germany.

Huawei

China's Huawei to invest $430M in North African cloud center, developer training

The Chinese tech firm has been increasing its footprint in the Middle East and North Africa.

Solar panels used to generate renewable energy at the Sustainability Pavilion during a media tour at the Dubai Expo 2020, a week ahead of its public opening, in the United Arab Emirates.

UAE places technology at top of COP28 agenda in Dubai

The UAE Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology, UAE Space Agency and COP28 signed an agreement in July to coordinate on technology-focused sustainable solutions ahead of the major climate change conference in Dubai later this year.

United Arab Emirates

Huawei

China’s Huawei opens cloud data center in Riyadh to grow MENA footprint

The Chinese telecoms giant said in February it would invest $400 million in Saudi Arabia's cloud region over the next five years.

Nvidia 1

US denies it had 'blocked' AI chip sales to some Middle Eastern countries

The US Commerce Department was quick to distance itself from the reports — but it did not directly address imposing license restrictions on certain types of chips.

Got Talent Papercup

Middle East offers strong market for AI content dubbing

The region is ripe for translated content as Arabic is widely spoken and there is a strong appetite for digital media due to a young population.

An Israeli Iron Dome anti-rocket system (L) and an US Patriot missile defense system (R) are exposed during a joint Israeli-US military exercise Juniper Cobra at the Hatzor Air Force Base, March 8, 2018.

Analysis

Israel sells Arrow 3 to Germany as Ukraine war fuels demand

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has increased worldwide demand for Israeli-made high-tech defense systems.

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

A man types on a keyboard next to the Intel products for sale in Beijing, on April 08, 2008.

US-China tech rivalry hits Israel as Intel cancels Tower Semiconductor deal

The companies canceled the deal after failing to obtain regulatory approval from China.

The head of the gynecology department of the in vitro fertilization unit at Aziza Othmana hospital, Fethi Zhiwa (L), speaks in the egg and sperm processing and freezing laboratory with the medical biologist and associate professor in reproductive biology of his service, Khadija Kacem Berejeb, on February 9, 2022 in Tunis. - Under Tunisian law, single women can only freeze their eggs if they are facing medical treatment, such as chemotherapy, "that could affect their ability to procreate". Under the country'

Culture

'Discrimination will not stop us!': How Arab women scientists are fighting to learn

The controversy surrounding diversity and gender-based discrimination in the sciences is continuing, but Arab female scientists persist in what they started.