Washington Opens the AI Vault to Abu Dhabi as Payment for the War on Iran
The Commerce Department cites the UAE's airstrikes and missile interceptions in granting access denied even to Israel and Saudi Arabia
The United States has expanded the United Arab Emirates’ access to advanced artificial intelligence technology, in what Washington has openly framed as recognition of Abu Dhabi’s military support during the joint US-Israeli war on Iran.
The US Department of Commerce announced that the UAE would receive broader access to advanced technologies with potential military applications, describing the move as recognition of Abu Dhabi’s role in carrying out airstrikes against Iran, intercepting Iranian missiles, and helping keep oil moving through the Strait of Hormuz during the war. The upgrade, the department said, acknowledges the UAE’s support for advancing US national security interests, including the military campaign designated Operation Epic Fury.
The announcement follows the UAE’s active participation in the opening phase of the war earlier this year, when Emirati forces carried out dozens of airstrikes before Iran launched its retaliatory missile attacks.
Access beyond that of Israel and Riyadh
According to media reports citing informed sources, the decision will let the UAE’s flagship AI company, G42, freely purchase advanced AI chips from US firms such as Nvidia for at least nine months. It also removes export licensing requirements that had prevented major American technology companies, among them Microsoft and OpenAI, from building data centres in the country.
The agreement reaches beyond artificial intelligence. It permits Abu Dhabi to buy military equipment and dual-use items for civilian nuclear energy without a US licence — an exemption not extended even to close American partners such as Israel and Saudi Arabia. In effect, the move places the UAE alongside South Korea, India, and several European allies in its access to sensitive US technologies with military potential.
Emirati officials had lobbied unsuccessfully for years for wider access to American AI technology. They renewed the effort directly with the White House once the assault on Iran began, arguing that their military role had proved the UAE’s strategic worth to Washington.
The decision has drawn scrutiny in Washington nonetheless, because G42 is controlled by UAE National Security Adviser Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan — a significant business partner of President Donald Trump’s family.
AI on the battlefield
The expansion comes amid continuing questions over the role of artificial intelligence in the war itself. Media reports last month said the US military used AI technology developed by Anthropic and Palantir to identify targets in the opening hours of the campaign. According to those reports, the systems were used in the Tomahawk missile strike on Minab School on February 28, the first day of the assault, which killed more than 170 students and teachers, and in a strike the same day on a sports hall in the southern city of Lamerd that killed 24 civilians. At least 3,500 civilians were killed during the 40-day war, and American and Israeli forces are said to have relied throughout on AI systems built by Western technology companies, particularly Palantir, to identify and select targets.
The widening of the UAE’s access also serves a broader strategic aim, as Washington moves to consolidate its grip on the global AI supply chain through its Pax Silica initiative — a programme directed primarily at curbing China’s influence over that supply chain, and which US officials say is also intended to counter Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative.
Reference: PressTv