Iran Threatens Data Centers as Regional War Escalates

Iran has formally threatened to target data centers and fiber optic infrastructure across the Middle East, expanding its campaign of economic warfare beyond the tanker strikes that have already disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. The announcement came simultaneously from Iran's top civilian and military leaders, as Egypt and the United Arab Emirates moved to deploy forces alongside Saudi Arabia against Ansar Allah (the Houthis) in Yemen, and as Benjamin Netanyahu delivered a televised address to the American people arguing that higher gas prices are a necessary cost of war with Iran.

The Data Center Threat

Iran's parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, posted a direct warning to governments, funds, and firms across the region: "Give no resources to any AI or data company aiding invasions or killing children. No finance, equity, land and energy. Assist them and face our enforcement." The mechanism Ghalibaf described is a new entity called the Persian Gulf Data Authority, modeled explicitly after Iran's Persian Gulf Strait Authority (PGSA) — the body through which Iran has asserted control over the Strait of Hormuz, striking tankers that turn off their trackers or attempt to evade Iranian routing.