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U.S. Tech Giants Flocked to the Persian Gulf. Now They Are Targets.

Amazon, Google and others struck deals in the Persian Gulf to foot
the bill for A.I. development. Iran has now threatened attacks
against the companies' infrastructure in the region.

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A string of thick, dark clouds pass by a city skyline.
Smoke rose after a reported Iranian drone strike on a fuel facility
of Bahrain International Airport on Thursday. Iranian drones have
also struck Amazon's data center in Bahrain and two others in the
U.A.E.Credit...Reuters
Adam SatarianoPaul Mozur

By Adam Satariano and Paul Mozur

March 13, 2026Updated 1:24 p.m. ET

In 2019, Amazon built its first data center in the Persian Gulf in
Bahrain. Three years later, it expanded to the United Arab Emirates.
In 2024, it began more than $10 billion in new projects across Saudi
Arabia.

The moves helped Amazon stake a claim to one of the world's fastest
growing regions, where deep-pocketed governments and investors wanted
in on the digital economy and artificial intelligence race.

"We look forward to helping drive innovation and talent development
across the kingdom," Andy Jassy, Amazon's chief executive, said in a
visit to Saudi Arabia last year with President Trump and other tech
executives.

But Mr. Jassy's plans were thrown into chaos on March 1 when Iranian
drones damaged Amazon's data center in Bahrain and struck two others
in the U.A.E. Many customers who relied on the data centers for
computing power remain in limbo.

American tech companies are facing a new reality in the Persian Gulf
two weeks into the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran. The region -- seen
as a safe haven for investment, cheap energy and hands-off regulation
-- became a hub for building the data centers needed to create and
deliver A.I. software. Google, Microsoft, OpenAI and other American
firms flocked to the area for its growing economies and its
convenient online transmission links to Africa and Europe.

Across the Middle East, total spending on consumer and business
technology reached an estimated $65 billion last year, up from $36
billion in 2020, according to the research firm IDC. Spending on
technology for data centers and cloud services rose 75 percent last
year to $895 million.

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