Goldie Ghamari - October 21, 2026


IRAN EXPLAINED： Islamic Regime Threatens Gulf AI Data Centers and Internet Cables

Hosted by
Goldie Ghamari
Mentioned
Mohsen Rezaei Hormuz Mohamed Bahir Ahmad Vahidi Neom Oxygen Mark Carney Skidmark Qalibov Balibov Oracle
IRAN EXPLAINED： Trump Backs Netanyahu as Reza Pahlavi Calls for a Free Iran BBC Guest DEFENDS Islamic Regime？ Goldie FIRES BACK!

Episode Stats


Length

13 minutes

Words per minute

126.98

Word count

1,713

Sentence count

93

Harmful content

Toxicity

12

sentences flagged

Hate speech

39

sentences flagged


Transcript

Transcript generated with Whisper (turbo).
Toxicity classifications generated with s-nlp/roberta_toxicity_classifier .
Hate speech classifications generated with facebook/roberta-hate-speech-dynabench-r4-target .
Hosts, guests, and mentioned names generated with spaCy (en_core_web_sm), reconciled against Wikidata.
00:00:00.000 Iran is threatening AI companies and data centers across the Persian Gulf, Iranian,
00:00:07.040 but it's Islamic regime parliament speaker, Mohamed Bagheer Qalibaf. So this is Qalibaf, 0.72
00:00:12.180 the carpet weaver. Qalibaf is the one that certain politicians claim is more moderate
00:00:18.800 and more reasonable to deal with. But I've spoken about the danger of these so-called 1.00
00:00:28.240 moderates. And I've spoken about how there really is no difference between a moderate or a hard
00:00:34.580 liner. The only difference between a moderate and a hard liner is that the hard liner will yell
00:00:40.560 Allah Akbar in your face while they try to murder you. The moderate will smile and pretend like
00:00:46.160 they're your friend and then they will stab you in the back while yelling Allah Akbar. So that's 0.98
00:00:52.000 That's body buff. And remember, prior to now being a parliamentary speaker, he was actually
00:00:59.360 the former general of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which is now run by, of course,
00:01:06.200 General Skidmark, a.k.a. Ahmad Vahidi.
00:01:10.240 well he announced plans for a persian gulf data authority warning regional governments
00:01:22.160 investment funds and companies against supporting ai firms allegedly involved in military operations
00:01:28.580 no finance equity land and energy he concluded with a direct threat assist them and face our
00:01:37.060 enforcement. Are we about to see Iran target data centers in the Persian Gulf again?
00:01:45.200 So, this is a very, very good analysis from the Iran Watcher on this exact topic. So, they write,
00:01:54.440 the Islamic Republic is threatening to attack the cables and data centers that keep the Persian
00:01:59.460 Gulf connected. Parliament Speaker Mohamed Bahir Qalibov announced that a new Persian Gulf data
00:02:05.840 authority is coming and warned regional governments investment funds and companies
00:02:11.280 against supporting artificial intelligence or data firms the regime accuses of assisting military
00:02:17.680 operations his threat was explicit no finance equity land or energy assist them and face our 0.56
00:02:24.880 enforcement the islamic republic has no authority to dictate how other persian gulf countries
00:02:31.040 allocate their money, territory, or energy. Qalibaf is not announcing a legitimate regional
00:02:37.200 regulator. He is giving an official name to a campaign of coercion. The word that matters is
00:02:43.360 enforcement. Only days earlier, senior Islamic regime figures threatened undersea internet
00:02:49.600 cables, data centers, and artificial intelligence infrastructure across the Persian Gulf.
00:02:55.280 Balibov is now demanding that regional governments and companies follow the regime's political
00:03:01.940 conditions or face unspecified consequences.
00:03:06.860 The message is unmistakable. 1.00
00:03:09.120 Obey the Islamic Republic or place the civilian infrastructure keeping your countries connected 1.00
00:03:14.680 at risk. 1.00
00:03:16.180 At least seven major undersea cable systems are concentrated around the Persian Gulf
00:03:21.480 and the Strait of Hormuz.
00:03:23.160 They include the 25,000-kilometer AAE-1 system, the 10,300-kilometer Falcon Network, and the
00:03:31.200 5,270-kilometer Gulf Bridge International Rink.
00:03:35.960 They are not obscure pieces of equipment.
00:03:38.820 Undersea cables carry approximately 99% of international data traffic.
00:03:43.440 The systems around Hormuz connect Persian Gulf states to cloud services, banking networks,
00:03:49.580 communications platforms, and international markets.
00:03:51.840 Most cables crossing the strait are routed through Omani waters rather than Iranian territory, but they remain geographically concentrated inside a narrow maritime corridor where disruption could affect several countries simultaneously.
00:04:08.580 The threat extends beyond cables. Data center capacity across the GCC is projected to triple to more than three gigawatts over the next five years.
00:04:19.660 The UAE and Saudi Arabia are expected to account for more than 80% of that expansion.
00:04:26.480 The investments include the planned Stargate UAE Artificial Intelligence Campus in Abu Dhabi,
00:04:33.120 Saudi Arabia's Humane Network, and the 1.5 gigawatt DataVolt project at Neom Oxygen.
00:04:40.500 Microsoft, Amazon, NVIDIA, Oracle, OpenAI, and regional sovereign investment funds are all connected to the broader build-out.
00:04:48.620 This infrastructure represents the Persian Gulf's attempt to move beyond oil and become a global center for artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and advanced technology. 1.00
00:04:59.720 That is precisely why the Islamic Republic is threatening it. 0.99
00:05:04.280 Senior regime official Mohsen Rezaei, guys remember Mohsen Rezaei is the one that looks like the rotten apple. 0.99
00:05:10.520 So if you go to our Boom Boom Jihad bingo sheet, this is Mohsen Rezaei.
00:05:14.700 This is here he is. And he was recently pulled out of retirement because America and Israel boom boomed too many of these dirkas and sent them to hell where they belong. So, you know, they had to they had to pull him out of retirement. 0.99
00:05:34.480 and he is now actually currently I believe he's the the head of the Supreme Security Council if
00:05:41.540 I'm not mistaken so like guys this one he's he's literally insane he's he's absolutely like utterly
00:05:47.420 insane um I actually think that it's a very good thing that he is one of the ones in charge because 0.99
00:05:55.240 having someone like him in charge it's pretty much a guarantee that um the Islamic regime is just 0.99
00:06:03.360 going to continue to act in a way that will make it impossible to deal with them in any other way 0.99
00:06:13.940 other than to eliminate them. You know what I mean? Because he is incapable of speaking in a way 0.64
00:06:21.480 that will convince non-Iranian politicians that, you know, they're reasonable or normal, 0.98
00:06:29.980 because he's literally insane. And he's all about like the Allahu Akbar, jihad, durka, 0.65
00:06:35.400 terrorism, nonsense. Having him in a key, key role, key position. This is actually a good
00:06:43.000 thing for us Iranians because we want the crazies to be in charge because when the crazies are in 0.99
00:06:48.120 charge, they're going to leave the world with no other choice but to eliminate them. He's so insane. 1.00
00:06:54.460 he literally murdered his own son. He murdered his own son in the name of Allah and Islam and 0.99
00:07:00.300 Jihad. So, you know, someone who is willing to murder their own son for Allah and Islam and 0.77
00:07:06.920 Jihad, you can imagine how they feel about Iranians or how they feel about everyone else. 0.99
00:07:13.960 So utterly insane terrorists. So let's see what Mohsen Rizay is saying. Senior regime official 0.95
00:07:22.680 Mohsen Rezaei has claimed that the region's cables, data centers, and artificial intelligence
00:07:28.200 facilities represent more than two trillion in economic exposure. That figure has not been
00:07:33.720 independently substantiated, but it reveals how the regime views these assets, not as civilian
00:07:39.640 infrastructure, but as leverage. The Islamic Republic does not require sophisticated deep
00:07:46.120 ocean capabilities to make the threat credible. The Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz are relatively
00:07:51.960 shallow major cable routes are mapped and the irgc navy has spent decades developing asymmetric
00:07:59.000 capabilities for operating in these waters the regime could combine cyber attacks strikes against
00:08:05.560 exposed facilities interference with cable infrastructure and deniable maritime sabotage
00:08:11.960 it could then prolong the economic damage by threatening the specialized ships required to
00:08:17.320 repair affected cables the objective would not be to disconnect the entire world most europe asia
00:08:23.480 data traffic does not pass through hormones the immediate victims would be the persian gulf
00:08:27.640 countries and the civilians businesses and financial institutions that depend on their
00:08:32.360 digital infrastructure even limited disruption could cause internet outages financial delays
00:08:38.440 cloud service interruptions and severe uncertainty around billions of dollars in planned investment 0.79
00:08:45.080 that is the leverage the regime is trying to manufacture the islamic republic has already 0.93
00:08:49.160 weaponized oil routes commercial shipping and proxy militias it now wants internet connectivity 0.92
00:08:56.120 data centers and civilian communications to become additional hostages the threat follows
00:09:02.680 the regime's established method officials identify critical critical infrastructure as a target
00:09:09.000 state-linked media publicize its vulnerabilities. Senior figures then manufacture a supposed legal
00:09:15.880 or moral justification for attacking it. If sabotage follows, responsibility can be blurred
00:09:22.360 through cyber proxies, unexplained maritime incidents, or supposed accidents. It is the
00:09:28.840 state equivalent of throwing the stone and hiding the hand behind its back. The hypocrisy is 0.95
00:09:35.320 unmistakable the islamic republic has repeatedly shut down iran's internet to suppress protests 1.00
00:09:41.640 conceal repression and prevent evidence from reaching the outside world it is now threatening 0.98
00:09:47.480 to export that digital darkness across the persian gulf qalibaf calls it a data authority
00:09:55.480 it is not an authority it has no jurisdiction legitimacy or consent from the countries it
00:10:01.800 It claims the power to police.
00:10:04.740 It is an ultimatum backed by the threat of sabotage. 0.94
00:10:09.280 The Islamic Republic is not offering the region digital governance. 0.92
00:10:13.620 It is demanding digital submission. 0.65
00:10:16.400 So these are all of the underwater cables in the region. 1.00
00:10:22.460 So this is what the Islamic regime is threatening. 1.00
00:10:26.180 All the ones right here. 0.96
00:10:27.320 I mean, essentially, remember, the Islamic regime has used hostage taking as one of its 0.93
00:10:36.520 major tactics, one of its major terrorism tactics. They've taken the Iranian people hostage. 0.84
00:10:42.700 Iranians have been held hostage for the last 47 years. And, you know, not just Iranians in 0.68
00:10:47.060 occupied Iran. If you're Iranian, you're basically a hostage. Doesn't matter if you're inside of 1.00
00:10:53.320 occupied Iran or outside? Because those of us who are outside, who speak out against the Islamic 0.99
00:10:59.900 regime, our lives are literally at risk, right? I mean, me, for example, I have a bounty of 250,000
00:11:09.100 American dollars on my head just for the crime of speaking out against the Islamic regime and 0.57
00:11:14.880 wanting freedom and democracy, right? So, and I'm not in occupied Iran. I live in Canada. No matter
00:11:22.360 if you're inside or outside, we're all sort of hostages. We're all occupied. None of us is free
00:11:28.380 until all of us is free. The Islamic regime has used that tactic with impunity. And now they're 0.90
00:11:36.960 expanding that tactic of hostage taking to other countries. So it's pure terrorism. It's literally
00:11:45.180 pure terrorism. What can I say? I hope that this will be another wake up call for any country that
00:11:57.620 wants to engage in a diplomatic solution with the Islamic regime. And you know, by the way, 0.86
00:12:03.040 I'm looking at those woke lefty European politicians. I'm also looking at Canada and
00:12:08.400 Mark Carney, right? All of these garbage politicians who are advocating for diplomatic 0.99
00:12:17.260 solution. Really, you want a diplomatic solution with a bunch of terrorists who are threatening to 1.00
00:12:23.240 destroy communication lines? I guess it's absolutely insane that there are literally
00:12:29.420 Western politicians out there who want to engage in diplomacy with terrorists who are essentially
00:12:44.040 now trying to take the world hostage. But what's interesting about this is that once again,
00:12:49.700 this is showing how desperate the Islamic regime is becoming. Because remember, 0.98
00:12:53.780 the closer that they get to collapse, the more insane they're going to get.
00:12:59.420 Thank you.