Iranian Drone Strikes Disrupt Persian Gulf AI Data Center Buildout
On March 1, 2026, Iranian drone strikes hit two Amazon Web Services facilities in the UAE and another in Bahrain, disrupting a significant $1 trillion initiative to establish a computing corridor in the Persian Gulf. This attack coincided with a US-Israel agreement to supply the UAE and Saudi Arabia with advanced Nvidia chips for AI projects. The initiative, initially introduced at the G20 Summit in September 2023, aimed to deliver over 3.3 gigawatts of AI computing capacity. The incident accrued a $150 million loss for Amazon, raising safety concerns and prompting Pure DC to offer remote work options. Further threats were issued against tech companies.
Key facts
- Iranian Shahed drones struck two Amazon Web Services data centers in the UAE and one in Bahrain on March 1, 2026.
- Iran hit an Oracle data center in Dubai on April 2, 2026.
- The US agreed to export up to 70,000 advanced Nvidia chips to the UAE and Saudi Arabia in 2025.
- Over 3.3 gigawatts of AI compute power was planned across the Gulf before the war.
- Gulf power costs average $0.10 per kWh, compared to $0.29 in Europe and $0.17 in the US.
- Amazon waived customer charges for March 2026 in its Middle East cloud region, costing an estimated $150 million.
- Dubai Court of Cassation 2017 ruling may hold tech providers liable for war-related disruptions as foreseeable risks.
- Eric Trump's World Liberty Financial has a $2 billion deal with UAE state-owned AI investment firm MGX.
Entities
Institutions
- Amazon Web Services
- Oracle
- Nvidia
- Microsoft
- Palantir
- IBM
- OpenAI
- MGX
- Binance
- World Liberty Financial
- Pure DC
- Mercer
- New York Times
- CNBC
- The Register
- Tech Policy Press
- The Conversation
- G20
- India-Middle-East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC)
- Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)
- Dubai Court of Cassation
- Revolutionary Guard Corps
- Pentagon
Locations
- United Arab Emirates
- UAE
- Bahrain
- Saudi Arabia
- KSA
- Iran
- Persian Gulf
- Dubai
- India
- Middle East
- Europe
- Israel
- United States
- New Delhi
- Jordan