Iran threatens OpenAI’s Stargate data center in Abu Dhabi
Foto: An October 2025 image of OpenAI’s UAE Stargate data center under construction.
30 billion dollars – that is the value of the Stargate data center infrastructure in Abu Dhabi, which has been targeted by the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). In a published video, Iran explicitly threatens the "total and absolute annihilation" of American technology and energy investments in the region should the USA decide to attack Iranian power plants. This threat is a direct response to the rhetoric of Donald Trump, who announced strikes on Iranian infrastructure in the event of a continued blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. The Stargate project, implemented by OpenAI with support from giants such as Nvidia, Oracle, and SoftBank, is ultimately intended to have a computing power of 16 gigawatts. Although the facility is still under construction, the first 200 megawatts of power are expected to be commissioned as early as 2026. For global users and technology companies, the escalation of this conflict signifies not only a threat to physical AI infrastructure but, above all, immense uncertainty regarding the stability of future computing systems. This situation demonstrates that state-of-the-art data centers have become a new, critical element on the geopolitical chessboard, and their security now depends more on diplomacy than on cybersecurity. Shifting the computational burden to politically unstable regions is becoming a test of risk resilience for Silicon Valley—one that cannot be eliminated by any algorithm.
Geopolitics and AI technology have collided in an unprecedented way, placing next-generation computing infrastructure in the crosshairs of a regular armed conflict. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has released a video directly threatening the destruction of the Stargate data center currently under construction in Abu Dhabi, owned by OpenAI. This incident, originally reported by Tom’s Hardware and subsequently confirmed by materials circulating on social media linked to the Iranian government, casts a shadow over ambitious plans to expand global artificial intelligence infrastructure.
The threat is not accidental and comes as a response to escalating tensions between Tehran and Washington. The video, published on April 3 on the X platform, promises the "complete and absolute annihilation" of American energy and technology companies operating in the region if the USA carries out its warnings regarding attacks on Iranian power plants. A key point of the footage is a satellite image of the Stargate facility in the United Arab Emirates — an investment valued at $30 billion, which is intended to become the foundation for future OpenAI language models.
Stargate as a strategic flashpoint
The Stargate project is not just another server room; it is a massive undertaking with a total value of $500 billion, supported by a consortium of technology giants such as Oracle, Nvidia, Cisco, and SoftBank. The location in Abu Dhabi is of key strategic importance due to access to energy and capital; however, its proximity to Iran makes it vulnerable to kinetic attacks in the event of a regional conflict. According to data from October 2025, construction of the facility is "underway," with an ambitious goal of launching 200 megawatts of power as early as 2026.
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Ultimately, this infrastructure is intended to have a staggering computing power of 16 gigawatts. This scale shows that for OpenAI, the Persian Gulf region has ceased to be merely a source of funding and has become the physical heart of operations. However, the Iranian video, using footage from Google Maps, shows that this concentration of resources in one location creates a so-called "single point of failure" — a critical point whose destruction could paralyze the development of the world's most advanced AI systems.
Errors in propaganda and political pressure
Interestingly, the Iranian propaganda material was not free of errors, which shed light on the intelligence quality of the prepared recording. In one sequence, a photo of the management team behind the project was shown, where Jeetu Patel, Chief Product Officer at Cisco, was incorrectly identified as Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. Despite these mistakes, the message is clear: Iran views AI infrastructure as an extension of American military and economic power, making servers a legitimate military target in its defense doctrine.
The situation is further inflamed by direct statements from US President Donald Trump, who announced the upcoming Tuesday as "Power Plant Day and Bridge Day" on the Truth Social platform, threatening Iran with retaliation for any potential blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. In an interview with ABC News, Trump went as far as mentioning plans to "blow the entire country up" if Iran does not make concessions. In the face of such rhetoric, OpenAI data centers in Abu Dhabi are becoming hostages in a high-stakes game where algorithms and silicon are treated on par with crude oil and energy infrastructure.
- Investment value: $30 billion for the Abu Dhabi module, $500 billion for the entire Stargate project.
- Key partners: Nvidia, Cisco, SoftBank, Oracle.
- Computing power: Planned 200 MW in 2026, targeting 16 GW.
- Threat: Direct military strike by the IRGC in response to US actions.
Artificial Intelligence on the front line
The situation surrounding Stargate forces a revision of the approach to the physical security of AI infrastructure. Until now, the industry has focused mainly on cybersecurity and protecting models against the theft of weights. Today, it appears that the greatest threat to the development of artificial intelligence may be a conventional ballistic missile. OpenAI, when asked for comment by The Verge, has not yet provided a response, which may suggest that the company is intensively analyzing operational risks in a region that is becoming increasingly unstable.
One could argue that the era of "safe" data centers in neutral locations is coming to an end. If data centers like those in the UAE are to handle critical functions of the global economy, their protection will require not only firewalls but also missile defense systems. The events of April 2026 show that Stargate is no longer just a technological project — it has become a symbol of a new cold war, in which computational advantage is as valuable as territory, and its physical installations are just as vulnerable to destruction as traditional strategic targets.
