U.S. tech ramps up government lobbying amid Iran war uncertainty
U.S. tech companies are stepping up their lobbying of government officials at home and further afield to defend their interests and map out contingency plans during the Iran war, industry insiders tell CNBC.
Conflicts in the Middle East have thrown the global business sector into turmoil; Oil prices soared and supply chains were greatly disrupted. In the technology industry, assets in the region have become military targets, and analysts predict a shortage of basic materials needed to build AI infrastructure.
“US tech firms are actively engaging with both US diplomats in the Middle East and their counterparts in the region,” Sean Evins, partner at strategic communications consultancy Kekst CNC, told CNBC, as well as engaging with officials at the White House and Pentagon.
He noted increased lobbying efforts from clients in Big Tech as well as the data center and semiconductor industries, but declined to share specific names because the information is confidential.
He added that the risk these customers are exposed to is now physical as well as commercial. “Critical undersea cables, public sector cloud, data centers and enterprise systems are physically and financially embedded in Gulf economies. Any instability quickly begins to threaten contracts and ultimately revenue.”
A White House spokesperson told CNBC that President Donald Trump “has always been clear about temporary disruptions resulting from Operation Epic Rage.”
They added that the administration is “working hand-in-hand with industry leaders to not only mitigate these disruptions, but to continue laying the foundation for America’s long-term economic recovery.”
Risk to infrastructure and markets
As the Iran war turns into a regional conflict, technology companies are directly targeted.
Apps and digital services in the United Arab Emirates In March, Amazon Web Services reported outages following drone attacks on its data centers in the country. At the beginning of April, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard threatened to attack some US technology companies operating in the Middle East. Nvidia, Apple, Microsoft And Google.
Second-order effects are also felt. Exports of helium, a key material in sawdust-making and other manufacturing processes, have already decreased significantly due to conflict. Experts also warned that a protracted conflict would create uncertainty over future data center and AI infrastructure projects in the region.
Mehdi Paryavi, CEO of the US-based think tank International Data Center Authority (IDCA), told CNBC that he was aware that technology companies were lobbying US officials to end the dispute.
“Tech companies are extremely concerned about this conflict, as peace is a fundamental requirement for building data centres, cloud services and AI factories,” he said.
“At a fundamental level, what these companies want is to stop war from becoming a risk to infrastructure, markets and systems,” Evins said.
“They also want their people to be safe,” he added. “They are looking for a familiar working environment. Tensions may occur, but a ceasefire, back-channel talks, or even a frozen conflict are preferable to continued unpredictability.”
Evins told CNBC that he’s seeing tech companies worry less about legislative ramifications, which could be considered traditional lobbying, and focus more on risk exposure as a company.
“They are pushing for clear deterrence against attacks on commercial assets and for firm commitments from the United States and other governments to defend those assets,” he added. “There is a real effort to ensure that conflict does not spread to critical infrastructure.”
