diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index 7060551..d297e39 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -20,10 +20,13 @@
 # OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE
 # SOFTWARE.
 
-FROM golang:1.24.1-alpine3.21 AS builder
+FROM golang:1.24.1-alpine3.21 AS base
 
-RUN apk add --no-cache clang llvm bpftool libbpf-dev
+RUN apk add --no-cache clang llvm bpftool libbpf-dev iptables
+ENV CGO_ENABLED=0
+ENV GOOS=linux
 
+FROM base AS builder
 WORKDIR /app
 
 COPY go.mod go.sum ./
diff --git a/api/api.go b/api/api.go
index 228e90a..eef06c2 100644
--- a/api/api.go
+++ b/api/api.go
@@ -35,7 +35,11 @@ const (
 	RoutingModeDefault  = RoutingModeBPF
 	RoutingModeBPF      = "eBPF"
 	RoutingModeLoopback = "Loopback"
+	RoutingModeIPTables = "IPTables"
 
 	GKEAnnotationServiceAccount = GroupGKE + "/gcp-service-account"
 	GKELabelNodeEnabled         = GroupGKE + "/gke-metadata-server-enabled"
+
+	GKEMetadataServerAddressDefault = "169.254.169.254"
+	GKEMetadataServerPortDefault    = 80
 )
diff --git a/go.mod b/go.mod
index 6a47113..97eaab5 100644
--- a/go.mod
+++ b/go.mod
@@ -14,13 +14,14 @@ require (
 	github.com/sirupsen/logrus v1.9.3
 	github.com/spf13/pflag v1.0.6
 	github.com/stretchr/testify v1.10.0
-	github.com/vishvananda/netlink v1.3.0
+	github.com/vishvananda/netlink v1.3.1-0.20250206174618-62fb240731fa
 	golang.org/x/oauth2 v0.28.0
 	google.golang.org/api v0.226.0
 	k8s.io/api v0.32.3
 	k8s.io/apimachinery v0.32.3
 	k8s.io/client-go v0.32.3
 	k8s.io/klog/v2 v2.130.1
+	k8s.io/kubernetes v1.32.3
 	sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime v0.20.3
 )
 
diff --git a/go.sum b/go.sum
index ea4a4f6..c1d8e61 100644
--- a/go.sum
+++ b/go.sum
@@ -127,6 +127,8 @@ github.com/kr/text v0.2.0 h1:5Nx0Ya0ZqY2ygV366QzturHI13Jq95ApcVaJBhpS+AY=
 github.com/kr/text v0.2.0/go.mod h1:eLer722TekiGuMkidMxC/pM04lWEeraHUUmBw8l2grE=
 github.com/kylelemons/godebug v1.1.0 h1:RPNrshWIDI6G2gRW9EHilWtl7Z6Sb1BR0xunSBf0SNc=
 github.com/kylelemons/godebug v1.1.0/go.mod h1:9/0rRGxNHcop5bhtWyNeEfOS8JIWk580+fNqagV/RAw=
+github.com/lithammer/dedent v1.1.0 h1:VNzHMVCBNG1j0fh3OrsFRkVUwStdDArbgBWoPAffktY=
+github.com/lithammer/dedent v1.1.0/go.mod h1:jrXYCQtgg0nJiN+StA2KgR7w6CiQNv9Fd/Z9BP0jIOc=
 github.com/mailru/easyjson v0.7.7 h1:UGYAvKxe3sBsEDzO8ZeWOSlIQfWFlxbzLZe7hwFURr0=
 github.com/mailru/easyjson v0.7.7/go.mod h1:xzfreul335JAWq5oZzymOObrkdz5UnU4kGfJJLY9Nlc=
 github.com/mdlayher/netlink v1.7.2 h1:/UtM3ofJap7Vl4QWCPDGXY8d3GIY2UGSDbK+QWmY8/g=
@@ -170,8 +172,8 @@ github.com/stretchr/testify v1.3.0/go.mod h1:M5WIy9Dh21IEIfnGCwXGc5bZfKNJtfHm1UV
 github.com/stretchr/testify v1.7.0/go.mod h1:6Fq8oRcR53rry900zMqJjRRixrwX3KX962/h/Wwjteg=
 github.com/stretchr/testify v1.10.0 h1:Xv5erBjTwe/5IxqUQTdXv5kgmIvbHo3QQyRwhJsOfJA=
 github.com/stretchr/testify v1.10.0/go.mod h1:r2ic/lqez/lEtzL7wO/rwa5dbSLXVDPFyf8C91i36aY=
-github.com/vishvananda/netlink v1.3.0 h1:X7l42GfcV4S6E4vHTsw48qbrV+9PVojNfIhZcwQdrZk=
-github.com/vishvananda/netlink v1.3.0/go.mod h1:i6NetklAujEcC6fK0JPjT8qSwWyO0HLn4UKG+hGqeJs=
+github.com/vishvananda/netlink v1.3.1-0.20250206174618-62fb240731fa h1:iAhToRwOrdk+pKzclvLM7nKZhsg8f7dVrgkFccDUbUw=
+github.com/vishvananda/netlink v1.3.1-0.20250206174618-62fb240731fa/go.mod h1:i6NetklAujEcC6fK0JPjT8qSwWyO0HLn4UKG+hGqeJs=
 github.com/vishvananda/netns v0.0.4 h1:Oeaw1EM2JMxD51g9uhtC0D7erkIjgmj8+JZc26m1YX8=
 github.com/vishvananda/netns v0.0.4/go.mod h1:SpkAiCQRtJ6TvvxPnOSyH3BMl6unz3xZlaprSwhNNJM=
 github.com/x448/float16 v0.8.4 h1:qLwI1I70+NjRFUR3zs1JPUCgaCXSh3SW62uAKT1mSBM=
@@ -286,6 +288,8 @@ k8s.io/klog/v2 v2.130.1 h1:n9Xl7H1Xvksem4KFG4PYbdQCQxqc/tTUyrgXaOhHSzk=
 k8s.io/klog/v2 v2.130.1/go.mod h1:3Jpz1GvMt720eyJH1ckRHK1EDfpxISzJ7I9OYgaDtPE=
 k8s.io/kube-openapi v0.0.0-20241105132330-32ad38e42d3f h1:GA7//TjRY9yWGy1poLzYYJJ4JRdzg3+O6e8I+e+8T5Y=
 k8s.io/kube-openapi v0.0.0-20241105132330-32ad38e42d3f/go.mod h1:R/HEjbvWI0qdfb8viZUeVZm0X6IZnxAydC7YU42CMw4=
+k8s.io/kubernetes v1.32.3 h1:2A58BlNME8NwsMawmnM6InYo3Jf35Nw5G79q46kXwoA=
+k8s.io/kubernetes v1.32.3/go.mod h1:GvhiBeolvSRzBpFlgM0z/Bbu3Oxs9w3P6XfEgYaMi8k=
 k8s.io/utils v0.0.0-20241104100929-3ea5e8cea738 h1:M3sRQVHv7vB20Xc2ybTt7ODCeFj6JSWYFzOFnYeS6Ro=
 k8s.io/utils v0.0.0-20241104100929-3ea5e8cea738/go.mod h1:OLgZIPagt7ERELqWJFomSt595RzquPNLL48iOWgYOg0=
 sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime v0.20.3 h1:I6Ln8JfQjHH7JbtCD2HCYHoIzajoRxPNuvhvcDbZgkI=
diff --git a/internal/iptables/iptables.go b/internal/iptables/iptables.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f65c5eb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/iptables/iptables.go
@@ -0,0 +1,87 @@
+package iptables
+
+import (
+	"fmt"
+	"net/netip"
+	"strconv"
+
+	"github.com/matheuscscp/gke-metadata-server/api"
+
+	"k8s.io/kubernetes/pkg/util/iptables"
+	"k8s.io/utils/exec"
+)
+
+func LoadAndAttach(emulatorAddr netip.Addr, emulatorPort int) func() (func() error, error) {
+	return func() (func() error, error) {
+		// Create the following iptables rules:
+		// iptables -t nat -A OUTPUT -d 169.254.169.254 -p tcp --dport 80 -j DNAT --to-destination <emulatorAddr>
+		// iptables -A FORWARD -d <emulatorIP> -p tcp --dport <emulatorPort> -m state --state NEW,ESTABLISHED,RELATED -j ACCEPT
+
+		// This rule essentially rewrites the destination of packets targeting the
+		// GKE metadata server with the ip:port address of the emulator, i.e. it
+		// effectively modifies the destination fields of matching packets.
+		ipTables := iptables.New(exec.New(), iptables.ProtocolIPv4)
+
+		// match conditions
+		natTableArgs := []string{
+			"-d", api.GKEMetadataServerAddressDefault,
+			"-p", "tcp",
+			"--dport", strconv.Itoa(api.GKEMetadataServerPortDefault),
+
+			// action taken
+			"-j", "DNAT",
+			"--to-destination", emulatorAddr.String(),
+		}
+
+		filterTableArgs := []string{
+			"-d", emulatorAddr.String(),
+			"-p", "tcp",
+			"--dport", strconv.Itoa(emulatorPort),
+			"-m", "state", "--state", "NEW,ESTABLISHED,RELATED", // new or established connections
+			// action taken
+			"-j", "ACCEPT",
+		}
+
+		close := func() error {
+			err1 := ipTables.DeleteRule(
+				iptables.Table(iptables.TableNAT),
+				iptables.ChainOutput,
+				natTableArgs...,
+			)
+			err2 := ipTables.DeleteRule(
+				iptables.Table(iptables.TableFilter),
+				iptables.ChainForward,
+				filterTableArgs...,
+			)
+
+			if err1 != nil {
+				return err1
+			}
+			if err2 != nil {
+				return err2
+			}
+			return nil
+		}
+
+		_, err := ipTables.EnsureRule(
+			iptables.Append,
+			iptables.TableNAT,    // NAT rules are applied before routing
+			iptables.ChainOutput, // output chain is for locally generated traffic
+			natTableArgs...,
+		)
+		if err != nil {
+			return nil, fmt.Errorf("error adding DNAT rule: %w", err)
+		}
+
+		// This rule ensures that packets destined to the emulator IP and port
+		// are accepted to be forwarded by the host, i.e. prevents the host from
+		// dropping matching packets.
+		_, err = ipTables.EnsureRule(
+			iptables.Append,
+			iptables.TableFilter,  // filter table is for access control (should packets be forwarded or dropped?)
+			iptables.ChainForward, // forward chain is for packets that are being routed, i.e. not destined to the local host
+			filterTableArgs...,
+		)
+		return close, err
+	}
+}
diff --git a/internal/routing/routing.go b/internal/routing/routing.go
index 56ab314..78923e6 100644
--- a/internal/routing/routing.go
+++ b/internal/routing/routing.go
@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@ import (
 	"net/netip"
 
 	"github.com/matheuscscp/gke-metadata-server/api"
+	"github.com/matheuscscp/gke-metadata-server/internal/iptables"
 	"github.com/matheuscscp/gke-metadata-server/internal/loopback"
 	"github.com/matheuscscp/gke-metadata-server/internal/redirect"
 
@@ -44,6 +45,8 @@ func LoadAndAttach(node *corev1.Node, emulatorIP netip.Addr, emulatorPort int) (
 		loadAndAttach = redirect.LoadAndAttach(emulatorIP, emulatorPort)
 	case api.RoutingModeLoopback:
 		loadAndAttach = loopback.LoadAndAttach
+	case api.RoutingModeIPTables:
+		loadAndAttach = iptables.LoadAndAttach(emulatorIP, emulatorPort)
 	default:
 		return "", nil, fmt.Errorf("invalid routing mode: %s", mode)
 	}