Iran Sepah Bank Attack (2026)

Attack on Sepah Bank of Iran (2026) is an incident that occurred on 11 March 2026 when a building belonging to Sepah Bank in Tehran was targeted by a missile strike during military operations conducted by the United States and Israel against Iran. As a result of the attack, significant damage was inflicted on some of the bank’s facilities, several bank employees were reported killed, and the Iranian government condemned the strike as a “unlawful act of war” and issued a threat of retaliation.

Background

On 28 February 2026, the United States and Israel launched extensive military attacks against Iran. The attacks targeted military and civilian infrastructure across Iran, resulting in numerous fatalities and thousands of injuries.

In response to these attacks, the Iranian government carried out drone and missile strikes against targets linked to Israel and the United States. During this period, countries hosting U.S. military presence in the region also became targets of Iranian attacks.

Execution of the Attack on Sepah Bank

The attack on Sepah Bank occurred on the morning of 11 March 2026 in Tehran. According to Iranian officials, a building owned by the bank was targeted in a missile strike orchestrated by the United States and Israel.

In a statement issued by Sepah Bank, it was stated that “One of the buildings of Bank Sepah was targeted in an Israel-U.S. missile strike early Wednesday morning.” Technical teams were reported to have begun damage assessment operations following the incident.

According to some sources, the attack targeted the Sepah Bank Digital Security Center located on Haghani Street in Tehran, resulting in the complete destruction of the building. Several bank staff members were reported killed during the strike. It was stated that these personnel were working overtime to prepare February salary payments at the time of the attack.

Iran’s Responses and Retaliation Threats

Following the attack, Iranian officials issued statements condemning the strike. Iran’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Abbas Araghchi stated regarding the attack, “Our armed forces will avenge attacks on our national infrastructure.”

The Hatem al-Anbiya Command Center, the unified command of Iran’s Armed Forces, described the attack as a “unlawful and unprecedented act of war”. The statement added, “Last night, the terrorist American army and the Zionist regime, unable to reach military targets, attacked one of our country’s banks. This unlawful act of war has paved the way for our targeting of economic centers and banks linked to the U.S. and Zionist regime in the region.”

The same statement included warnings to countries in the region, stating that individuals living near financial institutions linked to the United States or Israel must remain at least one kilometer away from such facilities.

Impact on Banking Services

Following the attack, disruptions were reported in some banking services in Iran. Certain digital services offered by Sepah Bank and the Central Bank of Iran experienced outages, internet banking services became temporarily unavailable, while card-based transactions continued in a limited capacity.

Security Measures Taken by International Banks in the Gulf Region

Following the attack on Sepah Bank and Iran’s subsequent threats of retaliation against financial institutions linked to the United States and Israel, international banks and financial institutions in the Persian Gulf region heightened their security measures.

In this context, U.S.-based Citibank announced a new decision in response to threats that Iran might target its financial institutions. The bank stated that due to developments in the security situation in the region following the attacks on Iran, it had decided to temporarily close the majority of its branches in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). According to the statement, Citibank decided to temporarily close all of its branches in the UAE except one.

Some banks operating in Qatar and the UAE warned their staff to evacuate offices, while other institutions instructed personnel to work remotely. In this regard, HSBC announced that it had closed all of its branches in Qatar under enhanced security measures until a further announcement.

Citigroup and Standard Chartered issued work-from-home instructions to employees in Dubai, while Goldman Sachs sent similar security advisories to staff working in its offices at the Dubai International Financial Centre.