Source: French to English Tester Published on: 2026-04-04
Source: The Conversation – in French– By Dennis Murphy, Ph.D. Student of International Affairs, Georgia Institute of Technology
Ryan Lim/AFP via Getty Images
Artificial intelligence has become a central tool in military operations, particularly for the United States Army. The data centers that operate it, mainly based in the Gulf region, therefore constitute crucial infrastructure. And like any critical device, they become potential targets in times of war.
The 1erIn March 2026, just before dawn, Iranian drones targetedtwo Amazon data centerslocated in the United Arab Emirates. A third center, in Bahrain, has also beentouched, although it is not established that it was targeted deliberately. Iran has in any case indicated that it considered thecommercial data centerslike targets.
This is the first time that a state has deliberately targeted data centers in the context of an armed conflict. In the past, these infrastructures were subject to espionage operations and cyberattacks, notably in 2024, when Ukrainian hackers destroyed data stored inRussian military centers, but the Iranian attack is distinguished by its nature: this time, its drones damaged physical infrastructure.
The progress of artificial intelligence is increasingthe strategic importance of data centers. The United States military, in particular, has heavily invested in AI tools intended fordecision support systems(SAD) as part of its operations in Iran and Venezuela. That is why Iranian forces might seek to neutralize the infrastructures that, according to their leaders, are used within the framework of these military operations.
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It is, however, not established that these specific centers were used by the United States military. The attacks might have had as their sole objective to punish the United Arab Emirates because of their ties to the United States.
PhD student at Georgia Tech specializing in the impact of technologies on international security, I do not consider that these attacks fundamentally change the nature of war. However, they force nations to acknowledge that data centers are now potential targets in armed conflicts — even when they do not directly support military operations.
Data centers and the cloud
The American army is increasingly integrating artificial intelligence into itsdecision support systems. During the “Absolute Resolve” operation, which allowed Washington to abduct the Venezuelan presidentNicolas Maduroas currently with themilitary strikes against Iran, the United States uses AI, notably Claude (from Anthropic), for intelligence analysis and operational support.
If AI enables the acceleration of military operations, the tools it uses are not embedded on board planes or ships. When a military personnel uses Claude, the IT infrastructure powering the model and its analyses is generally hosted on a secure Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud platform, which stores someconfidential government dataas well as various software tools.
Commercial data centers are the physical foundation of the cloud. For example, whenever a user opens Netflix to watch a series, the content is likely streamed from a center of this type,which may also belong to AWS by the way. When these centers fail, the interruptions affect amultitude of entertainment, information, and government services.
AI being an engine of economic growth, data centers represent critical infrastructure. They ensure the proper functioning of AI as well as a large part of the Internet on which governments and the private sector depend. When Iran attacked the data centers of the United Arab Emirates, it caused massive disruptions within thelocal banking system.
Commercial data centers run most of the technologies on which the modern world relies, including AI systems. Disrupting them is equivalent to paralyzing both a country’s military and society. Given that AWS operates a large number of these centers worldwide, it is likely that its infrastructures will continue to be targeted in future conflicts.
Taking it out on the allies of the United States
Researchers from Just Securityhave raised, on March 12, 2026, that the United States now requires cloud computing service providers to store government and military data on American territory or inbases of the Department of DefenseA: “Transferring this data to Amazon data centers in the Gulf region would require special authorization; we do not know if this has been granted.”
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps nevertheless stated that these strikes targeted data centers supporting the military and intelligence activities of “the enemy.” Ten days after the initial attack, an Iranian news agency declared that the data centers of major tech companies and other physical infrastructures in the region were now considered as“enemy technological infrastructures”.
Rather than for military reasons, Iran may have targeted the Emirates with the aim ofdestabilize the global economy and attract international attention. The Gulf being one of the main beneficiaries ofAmerican technological investments, the attack could have been symbolic by targeting the heart of American-Arab cooperation. AI infrastructures, notably commercial data centers, constitute agrowing share of American leadership in the region. This conflict could therefore compromise the future of AI infrastructures in the Gulf.
Giuseppe Cacace/AFP
Growing importance, vulnerable targets
And since data centers are increasingly important for national security, the economy, and society in general, it may be tempting to consider these attacks as a fundamental disruption in the nature of war. However, let us not forget that Iran has launched thousands of missiles and drones against targets in the Emirates. Although the vast majority were intercepted, the two that hit data centers represent only a small portion of the strikes that targeted civilian infrastructure, including theairports and hotels.
The vulnerability of commercial data centers — large in size, relatively fragile, and lacking their own air defenses — suggests that those located in the Emirates may have been chosen as targets for reasons of opportunity or ease. In other words, they were struck because they could be.
It seems, however, likely that as the use of AI and cloud services expand globally, commercial data centers will become recurring targets in future conflicts.
Dennis Murphy is affiliated with Georgia Tech, the Georgia Tech Research Institute, the RAND Corporation, the Notre Dame International Security Center, and the Astra Fellowship. He was previously affiliated with the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, the Marine Corps University, and the ERA Fellowship program at the University of Cambridge.
–ref. What the Iranian strikes on Amazon data centers change — or don’t — in the conduct of the war –https://theconversation.com/what-iranian-strikes-on-amazon-data-centers-change-or-not-about-the-conduct-of-war-279867