As Iran launches missiles and drones toward Gulf countries, the repercussions of the conflict are beginning to extend beyond direct battlefields to affect the region’s digital and economic infrastructure.
Attacks on certain sites in Gulf states have already reverberated through the technology and cloud-services sectors, raising growing concerns about the security and stability of data systems and technological infrastructure.
Reuters reported last month that Amazon announced that some of its data centers in the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain had been damaged by drone strikes. The incidents disrupted a number of cloud-computing services, with warnings that restoring full operations could take considerable time due to the complexity of the damage inflicted on the technical infrastructure.
Reports published by Bloomberg earlier this month also said that work related to a major communications-cable project by Meta in the Gulf region had been temporarily halted as a result of the war’s repercussions. The suspension reflects the scale of the security and logistical risks created by the military escalation, which could threaten the continuity of the project and affect the company’s plans to expand its digital infrastructure networks in the region.
Artificial-intelligence specialist Abdullah Al-Adawi says that targeting sensitive technological facilities, such as data centers belonging to global companies, could clearly affect the international investment climate. Speaking to Alhurra’s website, he explained that the data-center sector fundamentally relies on two essential elements: confidence in operational continuity and security. Direct attacks on such facilities, he said, could push global companies to reassess the level of risk in the region and possibly reconsider concentrating their projects within a single geographic area.
Nevertheless, Al-Adawi believes that these developments do not necessarily signal a fundamental decline in the Gulf’s attractiveness as an emerging technology hub.
Data Centers Before and After the War
Only one month before U.S. and Israeli strikes against Iran began, investment indicators pointed to the Gulf states’ rapid rise as a growing center in the global digital economy.
In this context, Microsoft announced plans to open a new facility for its Azure cloud-computing service in Saudi Arabia by the end of the year, aimed at serving strategic clients including ACWA Power and Qiddiya Investment Company.
This step came amid an accelerating push to build artificial-intelligence infrastructure across Gulf countries. Saudi Arabia’s Humain and the UAE’s G42 have pledged to finance massive data-center complexes, while also forming broad partnerships with Nvidia, Amazon, and Microsoft to strengthen advanced computing capacity. The UAE is also moving forward with establishing one of the complexes of OpenAI’s Stargate project in Abu Dhabi.
However, the recent military escalation raises questions about the future of this trajectory. Will the Gulf remain an attractive hub for AI investment, or will geopolitical shifts and developments in the war prompt global companies to reconsider their technological footprint in the region?
In response, Al-Adawi believes that ongoing developments could lead international companies to reassess their investment positioning in the region, though this does not necessarily mean a large-scale withdrawal or decline.
He suggests that companies may reorganize the distribution of their digital infrastructure across several countries to reduce operational risks, while potentially postponing some major investment decisions until the security outlook becomes clearer.
Companies may also seek clearer operational and security guarantees before proceeding with new projects.
Protecting Digital Infrastructure and Its Future
On March 11, Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Headquarters—the country’s central military operations command—said in a statement that Israel had targeted an Iranian bank and that Tehran would respond by targeting economic and banking centers linked to the United States and Israel in the region.
Such threats, combined with Iranian attacks that have already struck civilian facilities in Gulf Cooperation Council countries, have heightened concerns among those states about the possible targeting of data centers, artificial-intelligence projects, and submarine cables that form the backbone of the region’s digital economy—projects collectively valued in the billions of dollars.
Al-Adawi says the situation represents a difficult test for the Gulf’s rising technological profile but does not necessarily mean that it will erode entirely.
“The region’s future in artificial intelligence will not be determined only by the scale of announced investments,” he adds, “but also by its ability to protect its digital infrastructure and maintain the efficiency of the digital economy even amid regional tensions.”
Al-Adawi also stresses that if Gulf countries succeed in implementing such measures and demonstrate operational stability in the coming period, they could restore a significant portion of investor confidence relatively quickly. Conversely, repeated disruptions or continued security risks could prompt some companies to redirect part of their technology investments to other regions.
As the outcome of developments involving Iran remains uncertain, the situation presents new challenges for investors, insurance companies, governments, and technology firms. Yet the most important question concerns the future of technology and digital infrastructure in Gulf countries.
Amjad Arnaout, founder of MarkCognition, a company specializing in artificial-intelligence solutions, believes that Gulf countries possess three key elements required for any global technology hub: advanced digital infrastructure, large investments in the technology sector, and the availability of energy resources needed to operate massive data centers.
Speaking to Alhurra, Arnaout noted that artificial intelligence primarily depends on two key inputs—data and energy—and pointed out that Gulf states possess one of them: energy.
According to Arnaout, “this factor gives the region an opportunity to play an influential role in the global transition toward an economy increasingly dependent on computing and artificial intelligence.”
The article is a translation of the original Arabic.
Sakina Abdallah
A Saudi writer, researcher, and TV presenter
