Payday Paralysis: Precision Strike Destroys IRGC’s Financial Hub in Tehran

The main data center of Bank Sepah, Iran's oldest and largest state-owned bank, was targeted in a precision strike overnight. Bank Sepah, founded in 1925, handles payroll for Iran's military personnel, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and has been sanctioned by the US for its ties to the regime's forces.

The strike involved Israeli and/or US fighter jets launching a missile at the data center located on Haghani Street in northern Tehran around 1 AM local time. It targeted an administrative building associated with the bank, resulting in fires, structural damage, and an unspecified number of casualties among employees working late ahead of the Persian New Year.

Footage circulating on X shows emergency responders, including firefighters in red suits, navigating debris and using flashlights at the nighttime scene of a damaged building with visible destruction.

The attack is expected to disrupt salary payments to regime forces for an extended period, forcing the Iranian government to seek alternative methods. This could deepen disarray within the military ranks amid the ongoing 2026 Iran-US-Israel war.

There are also unconfirmed claims of a hacking component, with an opposition group reportedly wiping data from the bank's systems.

Iran's Khatam al-Anbiya Air Defense Headquarters issued a warning for people in the region to stay at least 1 km away from banks, citing the attack as a precedent. Iran has vowed to retaliate by targeting US- and Israel-linked economic and banking interests in the region.

This event escalates the cyber and kinetic warfare in the conflict, with broader implications for regional financial stability and potential spillover cyberattacks on Western banks.

Visuals from Tehran show smoke rising over urban areas, including near Bank Sepah facilities.