‘It means missile defence on data centres’: drone strikes raises doubts over Gulf as AI superpower

The Guardian World

by Daniel Boffey Chief reporter

March 7, 2026

Iran’s targeting of commercial datacentres in the UAE and Bahrain signals a new frontier in asymmetric warfare It is believed to be a first: the deliberate targeting of a commercial datacentre by the armed forces of a country at war. At 4.30am on Sunday morning, an Iranian Shahed 136 drone struck an Amazon Web Services datacentre in the United Arab Emirates, setting off a devastating fire and forcing a shutdown of the power supply. Further damage was inflicted as attempts were made to suppress the flames with water. Continue reading...

Verticals

worldpolitics

Originally published on The Guardian World on 3/7/2026