From missiles to malware
Welcome back to Al-Monitor FutureVerse.
From Tehran’s cyber arsenal to China’s growing AI footprint in the Middle East, we explore how the region’s tech frontlines continue evolving. Plus, we look at Germany’s deepening defense-tech ties with Israel, Turkey scrutinizing crypto transactions as the UAE targets Trump-linked tokens, a big bet on a Saudi oil and gas app, and much more. Let’s dive in.
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Sam (@sam_wendel)
TOP STORY
Stock photo (Getty)
From missiles to malware — and other tech targets
Even after last week’s Israel-Iran ceasefire, US officials remain on alert — not for more missiles, but for Iranian cyberstrikes and hackers threatening to disclose more emails stolen from US President Donald Trump's inner circle.
The Iran-linked group, who go by the pseudonym Robert, reportedly have roughly 100 gigabytes of emails linked to Trump and previously distributed a batch to the media prior to the 2024 US election.
On June 30, multiple US agencies warned that Iran-linked hackers may still target American defense firms and other vulnerable sectors, echoing an earlier alert issued just after US bombers struck Iranian nuclear sites last week.
Despite reports of some sectors facing cyber incidents in recent days, US authorities have not yet seen indications of a coordinated electronic warfare campaign linked to Iran. But that could change.
With its proxies weakened and its military might bludgeoned, Tehran could double down on digital warfare in the months ahead. Israel, for its part, unleashed sophisticated cyber blows on its enemy during the conflict, but Iran also demonstrated that artificial intelligence is a growing part of its arsenal — with Google’s AI at the center of online campaigns to supercharge disinformation.
The Gulf region may also face new risks. Though Iran didn’t retaliate against regional energy assets as feared, tech infrastructure could become a future target — especially massive AI data hubs planned with US tech firms across the Gulf. Shiny new data centers, all within range of Iranian missiles and drones, could prove easy targets. Whether Iran tests those vulnerabilities — or whether AI projects face delays as a result — will be a story to watch.
CLICKABLE
A cutout of US President Donald Trump holding a Bitcoin is displayed on a group of servers during The Bitcoin Conference at The Venetian Las Vegas in Las Vegas, Nevada, on May 27, 2025. (IAN MAULE/AFP via Getty Images)
World Liberty Financial, the cryptocurrency venture associated with the Trump family, has secured a $100 million investment from a little-known player based in the United Arab Emirates.
President Joseph Aoun recently spoke by phone with Elon Musk, during which the two discussed the possibility of the world’s wealthiest man entering Lebanon’s telecom and internet sectors.
OpenAI flags China's Gulf AI growth
ChatGPT’s creator said last week that its analysts have seen notable progress by Chinese startup Zhipu AI in securing government contracts across several regions — including in the Middle East.
Turkey targets crypto transactions
Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek recently said that Turkey is taking steps to prevent money laundering through cryptocurrency transactions.
How hackers hobbled Iran’s financial system
Broken cash machines, halted payments and a crippled crypto exchange: How Israel and a pro-Israeli hacking group targeted Iran’s financial infrastructure as the two countries clashed.
German-Israeli defense tech ties
Berlin wants to establish a joint German-Israeli cyber research center and deepen collaboration between intelligence and security agencies, Germany’s Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said last week.
DEALFLOW
Robot hand holding a surgeon's scalpel (Getty)
- New Zealand software company Xero agrees to buy US-Israeli payments provider Melio in a deal potentially worth $3 billion.
- Cybersecurity firm Cato Networks (Israel) raises $359 million in a funding round that valued the company above $4.8 billion.
- Robotic surgery company ForSight Robotics (Israel) announces $125 million investment.
- Fuel management platform PetroApp (Saudi Arabia) lands a $50 million funding round led by local private equity firm Jadwa.
- Go Telecom (Saudi Arabia) acquires a 51% stake in IT firm Ejad Tech for $23 million.
- Fintech rewards company Related (UAE) secures $8 million investment from Saudi Arabia’s Equivator.
- Venture capital fund Kinetica (Israel) working to raise $150 million to target defense tech investments.
DATA DISCOVERY
Amid the Israel-Iran war, users on the X platform turned to a new tool to make sense of the conflict — Grok, the platform’s AI chatbot. The results weren’t pretty: To assess Grok’s wartime verification efficacy, DFRLab analyzed approximately 130,000 posts on X, finding that the chatbot struggled to authenticate AI-generated media or determine whether accounts belonged to an official Iranian government source. Here’s a breakdown of where Grok ran into trouble:
ACTIONABLE INTELLIGENCE
Solar power station in the desert. (Getty)
🎬 Tech IPO take two? Saudi tech services company Ejada Systems is planning to reapply with the kingdom's regulator to go public after previous preparations stalled.
🌐 Want to know how Gulf AI companies stack up to global competition? Time magazine’s ranking of the 100 most influential companies in 2025 includes a rising regional AI player.
🤖 Speaking of Gulf AI companies, the next generation of players is starting to take shape. The UAE-listed firm Presight AI recently selected 10 startups to join its AI accelerator program.
🔆 Saudi Arabia could soon make new solar strides: A team of researchers in the kingdom has announced that they developed a new composite material that increases the power output of solar cells by 12.9% in the country’s desert climate while extending solar cell lifetime over 200%.
🤼 Watch out for unhappy wrestling fans: Last week, a major Netflix outage disrupted the live broadcast of a WWE Smackdown in Saudi Arabia.
📦 Similarly, keep an eye out for packages falling from the sky. Last week, the aviation technology firm LODD and investment group 7X launched the first pilot flight for drone parcel deliveries in Abu Dhabi.