<div id="readability-page-1">Several banks urged their employees to evacuate offices in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday as Iran threatens to launch strikes on financial institutions. HSBC has closed all its branches in Qatar until further notice, citing safety precautions in a text message sent to clients, Reuters reported. Citigroup and Standard Chartered also told their staff in Dubai to work from home amid the regional conflict, according to a memo reviewed by Reuters. Goldman Sachs issued the same warning to employees based at their offices in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), Bloomberg reported. The companies did not immediately respond to The Hill’s request for comment on the matter. Iran has pledged to ramp up its attacks on U.S. and Israeli banks in Persian Gulf countries after Bank Sepah in Tehran was bombed. A Lebanese building in Beirut linked to Hezbollah’s Al-Qard Al-Hassan financial institution was also struck in a Tuesday attack, according to Al Jazeera. Iranian state media reported that Google, Microsoft, Palantir, IBM, Nvidia and Oracle will be “targets” for retribution. “Iran’s national infrastructure is under attack. This time, a branch of my country’s oldest bank was bombed while full of employees. They were laboring to ensure Iranians have food on the table ahead of our New Year,” Iran’s Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi wrote in a Wednesday post on X. “Our Powerful Armed Forces will exact retribution for this crime,” he added. The move has rattled investors, with stocks for major U.S. banks dropping. Shares for Wells Fargo were down 1.94 percent as of Wednesday afternoon. JPMorgan Chase saw stock drop by 0.85 percent, Bank of America dropped by 0.60 percent while Citigroup was also down 0.40 percent, NewsNation reported. Iranian leaders have warned that oil prices will soon see another steep increase. “Get ready for oil to be $200 a barrel, because the oil price depends on regional security, which you have destabilized,” Ebrahim Zolfaqari, a spokesperson for the IRGC’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, told Reuters.</div>

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Several banks, including HSBC, Citigroup, and Goldman Sachs, have evacuated offices in Qatar and Dubai due to threats from Iran to attack financial institutions. HSBC closed its branches in Qatar, while others advised staff to work from home. Iranian officials have vowed to retaliate against U.S. and Israeli banks, causing stock prices of major U.S. banks to drop. Additionally, Iranian leaders warned of a potential spike in oil prices, predicting it could reach $200 a barrel due to regional instability.

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Banks evacuate, close offices in Qatar, Dubai after Iran threatens attacks