Banks in Gulf evacuate their staff after Iran threatens to attack economic centres linked to US

As the Iran war continues to impact the global economy, several large banks in the Gulf have been asking their staff to steer clear of offices in the region after Tehran indicated that it will strike economic centres and banks linked with the US.

According to a report by the New York Times, Citibank has asked its employees to immediately vacate its longtime regional headquarters in Dubai's International Financial Center. A notice addressed to the staff urged all to find “the nearest safe place away from the office” amid “heightened security concerns.”

Standard Chartered reissued its work-from-home advisory on Wednesday after first introducing it last week. Meanwhile, in neighbouring Qatar, HSBC temporarily shut down all three of its bank branches. “The safety of our colleagues and customers remain our top priority,” the bank said in a statement.

Iran to hit US-lined banks

Earlier this week, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) threatened to attack “economic centres and banks” linked to the US and Israel.

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A spokesperson for the Khatam al-Anbiya Headquarters, a group owned by the Guards, said that “the enemy left our hands open to targeting economic centres and banks belonging to the United States and the Zionist regime in the region”.

It warned that “people of the region should not be within a one-kilometre radius of banks. The Americans should await our countermeasure and our painful response,” it also added.

Iranian Bank hit in attacks

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that "a branch of my country's oldest bank was bombed while full of employees".

"Our Powerful Armed Forces will exact retribution for this crime," he added on X.

Iranian media had reported that US and Israeli strikes hit a bank in Tehran overnight Tuesday to Wednesday, killing an unspecified number of staff.

The government urged people across the region to avoid going within one kilometre (around half a mile) of banks.