Why Iran has threatened to hit Stargate AI data center
What's the story
Iran has issued a warning of potential attacks on data centers across the Middle East, in retaliation to continued US threats and air strikes. The country's military has warned that if the US goes ahead with its threats to target civilian infrastructure, Iran will respond by targeting US energy and tech infrastructure in the region. The Iranian military has specifically named the Stargate AI data center in Abu Dhabi as a potential target.
Targeted facility
A look at Stargate
The Stargate AI data center facility is part of a $500 billion joint venture between OpenAI, SoftBank, and Oracle, announced in January 2025. The project was initially plagued by funding issues and tariff costs but has since sought to expand with new international data centers.
Rising conflict
Trump threatens to strike Iran's civilian infrastructure
The threat to Stargate comes as US President Donald Trump has threatened to strike Iran's civilian infrastructure, including power plants and water desalination plants. This would happen if Iran doesn't reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a vital global shipping route that has been choked since February due to the ongoing war.
Ongoing attacks
Iranian missiles have already struck AWS and Oracle data centers
The threat to Stargate isn't just a verbal warning. Iranian missiles have already struck Amazon Web Services (AWS) data centers in Bahrain and an Oracle data center in Dubai. Iran has also directly threatened tech giants like NVIDIA and Apple, further escalating the tension between the country and major US-based technology companies.