Iran warns UAE ports: Escalation in Gulf conflict amid war with US-Israel threatens global trade

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has reportedly threatened to bomb the $30,000,000,000 Stargate AI data center. The IRGC has released a video threatening to attack the 1GW Stargate AI datacenter in the UAE. Iranian video shows IRGC-linked warning of attack on 1GW Stargate UAE AI datacenter in Abu Dhabi. The warning uses satellite imagery to reveal its desert location. Stargate UAE is a major AI computing cluster planned as one of the largest outside the US, with an initial 200MW phase to be expanded to 1GW in 2026. The Stargate project is backed by Japan’s SoftBank, US technology giants – Oracle, Cisco, Nvidia, OpenAI – and the UAE’s G42. The action is said to signal Iran’s shift toward asymmetric targeting of high-value Western technology assets in the Gulf amid regional tensions, highlighting the strategic vulnerability of data centers beyond traditional military sites.A spokesman for Iran’s Khatam al-Anbia headquarters said in a video message, “Should the US proceed with its threats regarding Iran’s power plant facilities, the following retaliatory measures will be immediately implemented. All power plants, energy infrastructure, and information and communications technologies of the Zionist regime, and all similar companies in the region in which the US has shareholders, will face complete destruction.”The video also featured this text: “Nothing is hidden from our sight, even if Google hides it.” It then pointed to Stargate’s location in the UAE and showed a photo of American CEOs of the project’s key partner companies, including Nvidia, OpenAI, Microsoft and Goldman Sachs.

What is Stargate UAE and what makes it ‘important’

Stargate is one of the most high profile Artificial Intelligence (AI) project announced by US President Donald Trump. The US President had announced the project in the Oval Office on the first day. He said that this will create thousands of American jobs. The Stargate agreement was announced during the visit of US President Donald Trump to the UAE in May 2025. According to the US Department of Commerce, this marks the largest data center deployment outside the United States. The project expands the footprint of American AI and cloud companies in the Middle East. OpenAI, Nvidia, Cisco and local champions G42 were part of the Trump administration’s announcement for the Stargate project. “By extending the world-leading American technology stack to a key strategic partner in the region, this agreement is a major milestone in achieving President Trump’s vision for American AI dominance,” Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said in a statement at the announcement. The UAE has also said that it wants to become a global leader in artificial intelligence by 2031.The warning video follows previous threats by the IRGC to target US companies operating in the Middle East, including Microsoft, Apple, Google and Meta. Similar to the warning issued in March, 18 US companies were targeted, including technology and finance companies. The warning calls these companies ‘terrorist companies’ and accuses them of spying for the US government. x.com/FurkanGozukara/status/2039986135405932656?s=20On Thursday, April 2, some reports claimed that the IRGC had bombed Oracle’s datacenter in Dubai. The UAE’s official media denied the report and described it as ‘fake and fabricated’.