DUBAI/LONDON, March 11 (Reuters) - Standard Chartered ( SCBFF )

has begun evacuating staff from offices in Dubai, two

sources said on Wednesday, as lenders step up precautionary

measures following an Iranian warning that Tehran will target

U.S. and Israeli banks in the region.

London-based British bank Standard Chartered ( SCBFF ) has a large

presence in the United Arab Emirates and offices including in

the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), a financial hub

home to large international banks and law firms.

Iran will target economic and banking ​interests linked to the

U.S. ‌and Israel in the region, after an attack on an Iranian

bank, a ​spokesperson for Tehran's Khatam al-Anbiya military

command headquarters said ​on Wednesday.

Many staff at foreign and local businesses have been working

from home following U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran, which

prompted Tehran to fire missiles at targets across the Middle

East, causing damage and deaths across the Gulf and travel

chaos.

The creation of the DIFC in 2004 kickstarted's Dubai's push

to draw financial firms. By the end of 2025, DIFC hosted more

than 290 banks, 102 hedge funds, 500 wealth management firms and

1,289 family-related entities.

(Reporting by Hadeel Al Sayegh and Lawrence White in London.

Editing by Tommy Reggiori Wilkes, Elisa Martinuzzi and Anousha

Sakoui)