Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL) shares climbed almost 3% at one point on April 2, shrugging off geopolitical concerns and ongoing market volatility. The rise took place even as Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) issued bombing threats against Google and other U.S. tech companies operating in the Middle East.
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Trade IBM with leverageThe threats were announced initially in March and described as a direct retaliation for recent U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran. Wall Street appeared to ignore geopolitical risks amid broader positive market sentiment, hoping the conflict could ease soon.
IRGC Issues Bomb Threats to Google and 17 Other Tech Firms
Excluding Google, Iran’s IRGC listed 17 other companies as “legitimate targets,” including Nvidia (NVDA), Amazon (AMZN), Apple (AAPL), Microsoft (MSFT), IBM (IBM), JPMorgan (JPM), Tesla (TSLA), and more.
The statement, released via a Telegram channel linked to the IRGC, accused these firms of aiding U.S. and Israeli targeting operations through ICT and AI technologies. Attacks were scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. Tehran time on April 1, 2026 (12:30 p.m. EDT).
Already, bomb strikes have been made on data centers owned by Amazon. The IRGC has urged employees of the named companies to leave their workplaces immediately and warned civilians within a one-kilometer radius to evacuate. The threats follow U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran dated February 28, 2026, and earlier IRGC actions against AWS data centers in the Middle East in March 2026.
Geopolitical Risks Fail to Dent Investor Confidence in GOOGL
The Iran conflict has escalated since February 2026, with repeated threats against Western tech infrastructure. Despite earlier warnings, broader tech stocks advanced on April 1 as U.S. President Donald Trump signaled the war could end within weeks.
Although GOOGL has since reversed earlier gains, recent price action suggests investors are focusing more on Alphabet’s core developments, such as its AI growth and cloud services, rather than on recent geopolitical headwinds.
Is GOOGL a Buy, Hold, or Sell?
GOOGL has received a “Strong Buy” consensus from 32 analysts tracked by TipRanks. They have projected an average price target of $378, with a 31% upside potential. The stock’s buy rating did not change even after the IRGC’s bombing threats the previous day. For investors who want to track ratings, price targets, and performance for GOOGL and other AI stocks, visit TipRanks’ Stocks Comparison Center.
