The Times Tech Podcast

Episode: Why Data Centres Became a Target in the Iran War

Date: April 9, 2026
Hosts: Katie Prescott (The Times, Technology Business Editor), Mark Selman (The Times, Tech Correspondent)
Featured Guest: Lei Zhang (Founder & CEO, Envision)

Episode Overview

This episode delves into the evolving and escalating importance of data centres—vast, nondescript buildings housing the digital lifeblood of modern economies and AI—exploring how they have now become pivotal assets, targets in state conflict, and central to debates on energy, security, and sovereignty. Against the backdrop of Iranian attacks on US-owned data centres in the Persian Gulf, hosts Katie Prescott and Mark Selman dissect the strategic significance, infrastructure vulnerabilities, and future energy challenges. They are joined by Lei Zhang, CEO of the global green energy giant Envision, for a visionary (and slightly alarming) look at how renewable energy and AI are entwining to reshape the global landscape.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Data Centres as New Strategic Targets

[02:32]–[09:24]

• Transformation into Critical Infrastructure:
  • Data centres, long seen as "boring looking but very, very important," have become as essential as electricity grids and oil pipelines ([02:32], Mark Selman).
  • Iran’s direct attacks on US-owned data centres in the Persian Gulf mark them as a new frontier in modern warfare.
• Recent Events:
  • Iranian missiles have hit Amazon Web Services (AWS) in Bahrain and Oracle in Dubai; threats also extend to Nvidia and Apple ([04:18], Katie).
  • The US and UK’s growing dependency on Gulf funding for tech exacerbates vulnerabilities; war has already forced major Gulf sovereign wealth funds to pull back ([06:36], Katie).
• Sovereignty and Overdependence:
  • Around 90% of UK and European cloud infrastructure relies on American tech giants (AWS, Microsoft). When outages hit, impacts on banking, payments, and consumer services are immediate ([08:24], Katie).

Memorable Quote:

"We're no longer building spaces for people to work in, but instead building homes for the silicon that could be replacing them."
—Mark Selman ([03:16])

2. Economic Shifts: The Data Centre Boom & Its Consequences

[12:37]–[14:55]

• Historic Investment Patterns:
  • For the first time, UK planning permissions for data centres (£9bn) outpaced those for office buildings (£6.5bn), up 58% year-on-year ([12:58], Katie).
  • Despite this, actual data centre construction lags far behind permission approvals; grid connection and space are major bottlenecks ([14:12], Katie).
• Policy & Planning Tensions:
  • The UK government has designated data centres as critical national infrastructure (CNI), putting them on par with hospitals for backup power prioritization ([09:24], Katie).
  • Central government is taking planning power away from local councils, causing local backlash against perceived impositions ([16:42], Mark).

Memorable Quote:

"It's a gold rush at the moment... the demand for them feels infinite."
—Katie Prescott ([13:24])

3. Security: Physical and Cyber Threats

[10:18]–[12:37]

• Cybersecurity Imperatives:
  • Alongside bombings, cyber attacks from state actors (notably Russia) are on the rise. Mark reports on GCHQ uncovering a Russian campaign exploiting insecure household routers, redirecting web traffic and stealing credentials ([11:03], Mark).
• Systemic Risk:
  • Both physical and digital vulnerabilities in data centres threaten wide-scale disruption, underpinning the rationale for heightened regulation and investment in resilience ([10:18], Mark).

4. The Energy Squeeze: Can We Power the AI Revolution?

[14:55]–[18:07] | Interview with Lei Zhang [19:45]–[42:13]

• Infrastructure Strains:
  • The national grid is strained, with rising demand from both AI data centres and EVs—a "perfect storm on a creaking infrastructure" ([14:55], Katie).
  • Public skepticism grows amid the push for ever more data centres, with local and political opposition mounting ([15:10], Mark).
• Global Perspective with Lei Zhang:
  • Vision for Green AI Data Centres:
    • Envision is building the world’s first fully renewable-powered AI data centre in the Gobi Desert ([18:07], Katie introducing Lei).
    • The company has developed "AI wind turbines"—using adaptive AI control to increase efficiency ([21:25], Lei).
  • Scale & Challenge:
    • Projects span EV batteries in the UK, green hydrogen and ammonia production in Mongolia, and energy management software from Singapore ([22:57], Lei).
  • AI's Insatiable Energy Demand:
    • AI is only just beginning to consume energy; Lei predicts demand may grow 100-fold, especially if/when "physical AI" (robots) proliferate ([25:41], Lei).

Memorable Quotes:

"Just think about before the steam engine was invented... after the industrial revolution we consumed 100 times more energy. So we are able to using AI do lots of things... This is going to [mean] 100 times more energy usage than today."
—Lei Zhang ([25:41])

"AI and robots, they're going to be searching huge amounts of electricity. Like humans, we always search for food. They don't eat protein, they need electricity."
—Lei Zhang ([26:52])

5. AI, Sovereignty, and Geopolitics

[33:49]–[36:12], [38:00]–[39:08]

• Collaboration in an Era of Division:
  • Despite current trade wars and fragmentation, global collaboration is vital to a renewable energy future ([33:49], Katie).
• Energy Security Above All:
  • "The biggest security is energy security—energy creates everything... renewable energy is the most important foundation for energy security."
    —Lei Zhang ([34:21])
• Green Ammonia & Future Fuel Innovations:
  • Envision's shipment of "green ammonia" from Inner Mongolia to Korea marks the dawn of scalable, off-grid, renewable “liquid fuels”—renewables circumventing chokepoints like the Strait of Hormuz ([37:44], Katie/Lei).

6. The Future: Silicon Civilizations & The AI Economy

[27:39]–[31:40], [39:08]–[41:33], [42:17]–[43:30]

• AI’s Agency and Autonomy:
  • Lei envisions robots and AI with their own intelligence, goals, and societies, potentially operating beyond direct human control: "They will be much smarter than humans... this silicon civilization is going to develop and need lots of energy" ([27:44–29:00], Lei).
• Workplace AI Adoption:
  • Envision encourages employees to "token max"—use as much AI compute as possible, with leaderboards and promotion incentives ([39:37], Katie/Lei).
• Host Reactions:
  • Mark and Katie reflect with a mix of humor and unease on the prospect of “robots breeding” and a “silicon civilization”:

    "With interviews like that, you sort of go from 'oh my God, that sounds mad' to thinking, 'that sounds sensible.' But then you have to check yourself..."
    —Mark Selman ([42:26])

Notable Quotes & Moments (with Timestamps)

• On Infrastructure Vulnerability:

  "At the height of the war, certainly a new front line was the data centre."
  —Katie Prescott [04:18]

• On Market Shifts:

  "For first time in British history, the value of new data centres being approved for planning permission has overtaken office buildings."
  —Mark Selman [12:45]

• On the Future of AI:

  "AI is going to be the largest consumer of energy, which means electricity...robots and AI will be searching for electricity like humans search for food."
  —Lei Zhang [27:39, 26:52]

• On Global Tensions:

  "Energy security is the foundation for supply chain security."
  —Lei Zhang [34:21]

• On Commoditization of Intelligence:

  "Once wind blows, you get a free token. There’s no limit for token supply."
  —Lei Zhang [41:27]

Key Timestamps

• [02:32–05:57] – Data centres as the new front line in warfare; Iranian attacks in the Persian Gulf.
• [08:24–10:18] – Outages and their broader impact; critical infrastructure designation in the UK.
• [11:03–12:37] – Cybersecurity: Russian attacks on UK routers.
• [12:45–14:55] – Planning and investment boom for data centres vs. offices; grid challenges.
• [19:45–31:40] – Lei Zhang interview: journey, Envision’s projects, the “AI energy problem”, and vision for silicon civilizations.
• [33:49–36:12] – Global collaboration, energy security, and geopolitics in the age of renewable energy.
• [39:08–41:33] – "Token maxing," organizational AI behavior at Envision.
• [42:17–43:30] – Hosts reflect on the "robots breeding" and silicon civilization theory.

Takeaway: Why This Matters

This episode reveals how data centres have rapidly shifted from invisible background infrastructure to the vanguard of geopolitical conflict, investment, and societal debate. The move towards AI-dominated economies brings not just technological transformation, but unprecedented energy demands and vulnerabilities. As nations race to reassert control—be it through local planning, sovereign tech, or energy security—the future is poised on a knife-edge between silicon-powered progress and the risks of runaway systems. As Lei Zhang puts it, the only path to security is through abundance—renewable, resilient, and globally shared.

For comments or reactions on today's topics, listeners can email the show at techpod@times.co.uk.