- UAE denies reports of IRGC targeting Oracle data centre in Dubai
- Dubai Government Media Office calls such reports fake news
- Iranian media claimed IRGC attacked US firms' data centres in Gulf
Amid Iran's continued attacks on US and Israeli targets in the Middle East, the authorities in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have denied reports claiming that the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) have targeted a data centre belonging to American tech firm Oracle in Dubai.
Talking to X, the Dubai Government's Media Office said that media reports alleging the IRGC has launched or attempted an attack in Dubai were "fake news" and had no basis in fact. Posting a screengrab of one such report, the official account of the Debai Media Office wrote, "Fake News Alert".
The clarification came after Iranian media reported that the data centres of two US firms -- Oracle in Dubai and Amazon in Bahrain -- were targeted by the IRGC in a new wave of attacks on US firms on Thursday.
Authorities in Dubai have repeatedly cautioned against spreading misinformation -- especially during periods of heightened regional tensions -- urging the public to obtain updates only from official government sources.
Iran's Attack on Gulf Allies
The Iranian attacks followed a warning from state media that the IRGC would target American companies, including Microsoft, Google, Apple, Meta, Oracle, Intel, HP, IBM, Cisco, Dell, Palantir and Nvidia in relation to US-Israeli aggression. Tehran on Thursday said it had targeted the UAE, Bahrain and Israel after US-Israeli strikes hit the country's two largest steel plants.
Iran has also been on the receiving end of such attacks. A data centre in Tehran, operated by Iran's state-run Bank Sepah, was struck by a missile -- apparently fired by US or Israeli forces --on March 11, according to a report in The Jerusalem Post.
Advances in artificial intelligence have increased the importance of data centres. The US military, in particular, has made great use of AI systems for decision support in its attacks on Iran and Venezuela. Given how important data centres are, Iranian forces could be targeting the infrastructure that Iran's leaders believe is supporting strikes on Iran. It is not altogether clear that these particular data centres were used by the US military. Instead, the attacks may have been part of a broader effort to punish the Gulf nations for their ties with the US.
