Data centers become military targets in Iran war
This report is taken from this week’s newsletter The Tech Download. As you see? You can subscribe Here.
Banking, payments, corporate and consumer services in the UAE experienced disruptions earlier this week. AWS (Amazon Web Services) data centers in the country were hit by Iranian drone attacks on Sunday.
Most applications came back online after companies scrambled to move servers, but the disruption to services many people use on a daily basis shows how digital infrastructure has become a strategic target.
After the United States and Israel launched a joint attack on Iran last weekend, Tehran’s wave of retaliatory attacks in the Middle East targeted military bases, oil and gas production facilities and data centers.
There are more than 200 of them in the Middle East, by some estimates, and cheap energy and land have led U.S. hyperscalers to pour resources into increasing capacity in the region in recent years.
“Iran and its proxies have targeted oil fields in the past, but their attacks on UAE data centers this week show that they are now considered critical infrastructure,” Patrick J. Murphy, managing director of the geopolitical unit at consulting firm Hilco Global, told me.
Guests look at a model of the UAE’s largest data center under construction in Abu Dhabi as the Stargate initiative, a joint venture between G42, Microsoft and OpenAI, during the Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference (ADIPEC) in Abu Dhabi on November 3, 2025. (Photo: Giuseppe CACACE / AFP) (Photo: GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP via Getty Images)
Giuseppe Cacace | Afp | Getty Images
critical infrastructure
On Monday, AWS said two of its facilities in the UAE were directly hit by drones, while a facility in Bahrain was damaged by a nearby attack.
Companies using AWS servers in the UAE have been advised to move to alternative regions as they race to limit outage. AWS was still reporting services in the country were “interrupted” on Friday morning.
Governments have increasingly recognized the strategic importance of data centers in recent years. The US recognizes these as part of 16 critical infrastructure sectors; The UK has designated these as critical national infrastructure in 2024; The EU also gives them special status. Many other countries across Europe and further afield also classify their data centers as critical.
But the rise of drone warfare in recent years has brought new scrutiny to the security of the infrastructure that powers digital life around the world.
Hilco Global’s Murphy said Iran is targeting data centers in the Middle East and could see more governments “incorporating them into national security planning frameworks alongside energy facilities, telecommunications networks, water purification plants and transportation hubs.”
AWS, Microsoft And Google It declined to comment on security arrangements at data center sites in the region as a result of the conflict.
Scott Tindall, a partner in the infrastructure and energy team at law firm Hogan Lovells, told me that many digital services have been restored in the past few days, but drone strikes in Iran may sharpen the focus on multisite replication and backup options.
While “advanced data center operators” already conduct detailed geopolitical risk assessments, these will likely need to be “reconsidered in light of recent events,” he said.
Latest updates
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quote of the week
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman speaks during a media tour of the Stargate data center on September 23, 2025 in Abilene, Texas. Stargate is a collaboration between OpenAI, Oracle and SoftBank, with promotional support from President Donald Trump, to build data centers and other infrastructure for artificial intelligence across the United States.
Kyle Grillot | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Quotation: OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said Monday that the company “shouldn’t rush” its latest deal with the U.S. Department of Defense. “it seemed opportunistic and sloppy.”
Big picture: On Friday, OpenAI announced a new agreement with the Department of Defense.
The move came just hours after a dispute between Anthropic and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over security measures for Clause AI systems ended with President Donald Trump ordering US government agencies to “immediately stop” using the company’s technology.
Days later, Altman said the company would amend OpenAI’s contract with the department to include new language regarding its policies on issues such as oversight.
