Skip to content
Tech News
← Back to articles

Iran threatens ‘complete and utter annihilation’ of OpenAI's $30B Stargate AI data center in Abu Dhabi — regime posts video with satellite imagery of ChatGPT-maker's premier 1GW data center

read original more articles
Why This Matters

Iran's IRGC has issued a stark warning to the U.S. and Israel, threatening to destroy key infrastructure, including a $30 billion AI data center in Abu Dhabi, highlighting escalating geopolitical tensions around critical tech assets. This development underscores the increasing risks faced by global tech infrastructure amid geopolitical conflicts, potentially impacting AI development and data security. The threat also emphasizes the importance of cybersecurity and strategic resilience for tech companies operating in sensitive regions.

Key Takeaways

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has issued a clear public warning to the U.S. that any damage inflicted on Iran’s power infrastructure will be met with decisive retaliation. Specifically, IRGC spokesperson Brigadier General Ebrahim Zolfaghari threatened the “complete and utter annihilation” of U.S. and Israeli facilities. The ‘hidden’ $30 billion Stargate AI datacenter in Abu Dhabi was singled out as a juicy target for Iranian destruction later in the video. The threats come on the heels of Iran reportedly delivering enough damage via rocket strikes to some Amazon AWS data centers that they have shut down.

Iran leveling upThey released a video of threatening to strike 1GW Stargate AI datacenter in the UAE.The data center is hidden on Google maps they even shown that pic.twitter.com/LuOGIp3BVjApril 3, 2026

Above, you can see and hear Zolfaghari make the headlining threats against U.S. action in Iran. “Should the USA proceed with its threats concerning Iran’s power plant facilities the following retaliatory measures shall be promptly enacted,” declares the military spokesperson. “All power plants, energy infrastructure, and information and communications technology of the Zionist regime, and all similar companies within the region that have American shareholders shall face complete and utter annihilation.”

After the remarks from Zolfaghari, the video switches to a shot of the Earth from space, which zooms into Abu Dhabi on Google Maps. A zone not far from the coast is then centered on, showing an apparently ‘empty’ area of desert. However, a message is overlaid on this bleak view, stating “Nothing stays hidden to our sight, though hidden by Google.” The video then switches to a ‘night vision’ view of the same area of the map with the full extent of the Stargate AI datacenter in Abu Dhabi clear to see.

Article continues below

Image 1 of 4 (Image credit: IRGC video) (Image credit: IRGC video) (Image credit: IRGC video) (Image credit: IRGC video)

Escalation potential or a bluff?

One might query why Iran hasn’t already struck targets like the Stargate AI data center during the last month of hostilities if it were at all possible. It has already inflicted enough damage to disrupt operations at some Amazon AWS data centers. Perhaps these were just ‘lucky’ shots that managed to get through defenses deployed in the Gulf States. Moreover, Iran has made similar threats against Nvidia, Microsoft, Apple, Google, and 14 other U.S. tech companies over recent weeks.

With neither side looking like it will cool down the rhetoric and throttle back on the use of force right now, we might actually find out whether Iran can mount a devastating attack on U.S. business-related data centers or not. There will be lives at stake, of course, people are working at these facilities, so it isn’t all about the $30 billion that has been sunk into these huge projects in the Middle East.

Follow Tom's Hardware on Google News, or add us as a preferred source, to get our latest news, analysis, & reviews in your feeds.