Kamal Ghorui
Dell Technologies has now instructed its employees to refrain from travelling to the Middle East for work until mid-April, following the threats from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) that named the company among potential targets. According to a report by Business Insider, in an internal document of the company, Dell said that it was prioritising staff safety amid the escalating tension in the region. The internal note from Dell seen by Business Insider said: “As the situation in the Middle East continues to evolve, we want to take a moment to reaffirm that the health and safety of our team members remain our number one priority.”
Travel restrictions and safety measures imposed by Dell
As per the BI report, the guidance, posted on Dell’s internal SharePoint has directed the employees to avoid travel to , from, or through Israel, Lebanon, and Gulf countries including Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE. The company has also asked the staff based in the region to work from home until further notice.
“Transit includes layovers and connections in the impacted-do not travel region,” the document said.Dell’s Security & Resiliency Operations (SRO) team is monitoring both physical and cyber threats globally. The company also provided employees with access to counselling, well-being support, and the ISOS travel and health app.
Iran’s IRGC labels 18 US companies as ‘terrorist”
For those unaware, recently, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRCG) sent a warning to American companies. According to a report in CBS News, the warning, similar to one issued in March, sends warning to 18 US companies that include technology and finance companies. In its message, IRGC said it would start targeting US technology and finance companies in the Middle East. The IRGC said the U.S. had “ignored our repeated warnings about the need to stop terrorist operations, and today, a number of Iranian citizens were martyred in your and your Israeli allies’ terrorist attacks.In the post that has appeared on Telegram messaging app, the IRGC accused these 18 companies of acting as “spies” for the US government and helping it to carry out strikes. It said that since the main element in designing and tracking terror targets are American ICT and AI companies, in response to this terrorist operation, from now on the main institutions effective in terrorist operations will be our legitimate targets.“IRGC’s post warned “employees of these companies to leave their workplaces immediately to save their lives. It said that residents around these terrorist companies in all countries in the region should also leave their places within a radius of one kilometre and go to a safe place.
