Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said in a written interview published by U.S. outlet Drop Site News on Oct. 21 (U.S. time) that if the war resumes, “cables, data centers and AI facilities could also come within range.” On Oct. 23, oil prices rose amid mounting tensions in the Middle East, with Brent crude futures settling at their highest level since April 29.
“The United States has valuable assets in this region,” Rezaei said in the interview. “In the event of war, cables, data centers and AI facilities could also come within range. If the conflict starts again, we have broader plans.” His remarks were conditional, and he did not name any countries, companies or facilities.
On energy facilities, he said Iran has no policy of attacking civilian energy infrastructure to damage the regional economy. He warned, however, that if the United States uses neighboring countries’ energy infrastructure to offset disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz and maintain its blockade of Iran, those governments “should not think they can join the economic war against Iran without taking risks.”
Other senior Iranian officials have made similar remarks. On Oct. 18, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf called on governments, investment funds and companies in the region in a post on X not to provide “funding, investment, land or energy” to AI and data companies complicit in the invasion and the killing of children. On Oct. 19, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps spokesman Hossein Mohebbi said seven major internet cables run beneath the Strait of Hormuz.
Brent crude futures for December delivery on ICE settled at $116.72 a barrel on Oct. 23, up $3.55, or 3.14%, from the previous day. It was the highest close since April 29, with prices gaining about 6% on the week for a third straight weekly rise. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures for December rose $3.80, or 3.8%, to $103.27.
The rally has been driven by a rise in attacks across the Gulf. On the night of Oct. 21, King Fahd International Airport in Dammam, in eastern Saudi Arabia, came under attack, killing two people. Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi militia has claimed responsibility. According to Reuters, Saudi Aramco on Oct. 22 told employees at its headquarters in Dhahran, in the country’s east, to leave the premises and work from home.
On Oct. 21, the U.S. State Department ordered non-emergency government employees and their family members to leave Saudi Arabia, a measure that applies to that country only. On Oct. 22, U.S. President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social that “Iran is doing everything it can to push oil prices up before the U.S. midterm elections.” The White House has denied plans to strike Iran before the midterms, but The New York Times has reported that the United States and Israel have drawn up plans for an attack after the elections.
Gulf data centers have already been hit in 2026. Amazon Web Services (AWS) said two of its facilities in the UAE took direct hits on March 1, and that equipment in Bahrain was affected by a drone strike near one of its facilities.
On March 31, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps issued a statement naming 18 companies, including UAE AI firm G42, Nvidia, Oracle and Microsoft, as “legitimate targets.”
In September, Reuters reported that the UAE was considering spreading out sites and strengthening air defenses for its 5-gigawatt AI data center plan, which includes the first phase of Stargate UAE, a 1-gigawatt project worth $30 billion. G42, which is leading the project, has said work is proceeding on schedule.
In the United States, meanwhile, President Trump said on Oct. 21 that he wants large new data centers to supply their own power. When it comes to where AI data centers are built, power supply has become the key challenge in the U.S., while in the Gulf it is security.
In financial markets, U.S. tech stocks sold off on Oct. 22 amid skepticism over AI investment. According to Goldman Sachs, the three main hedge fund strategies it tracks all fell more than 1% on the same day for the first time since the pandemic. That day, U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs saw net outflows of about $636 million, and bitcoin briefly dropped to the $81,000 range.
Image：Shutterstock
Trump Wants Data Centers to Generate Their Own Power and Pay “Dividends” to Local Residents
The Impact of Unrestricted Technological Innovation: The Dual-Use Shock
