Iran Says It Hit Oracle Facilities in UAE (gizmodo.com)

by Betelbuddy 19 comments 46 points
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19 comments

[−] tristanj 43d ago
I believe this is fake. Iran repeatedly claims to have struck targets, without evidence to back it up.

The Dubai government denies this strike happened https://gulfnews.com/uae/dubai-denies-reports-of-an-irgc-att...

And the Oracle live status report webpage says everything is online, and there are no active incidents in Dubai. The history page reports no incidents in Dubai since the start of the conflict.

https://ocistatus.oraclecloud.com/#/

As an example of fake claims, Iran claimed to have struck the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln with hypersonic missiles three times already. But the ship is still sailing and launching sorties. They then post AI generated pictures and videos as 'evidence' that the strikes were successful.

[−] michaelt 43d ago
> The Dubai government denies this strike happened

In the UAE it's illegal to talk about the strikes, or post videos of them online. $55,000+ fine and 2+ years in prison. Over 100 people have already been arrested.

When the two different governments said contradictory things, in other situations a journalist would arrange for a local correspondent to head over to the Oracle building and see if it's visibly damaged, maybe get some photos.

[−] shykes 43d ago
It's interesting, because I initially thought these restrictions in UAE were strictly because of operational security. That is why Israel and Ukraine, for example, also forbid posting images of missile impacts: it provides valuable targeting information to the enemy. In Israel the legal framework is military censorship; in Ukraine it's martial law. Enforcement against individuals is strong in Ukraine, and more selective in Israel - presumably because Ukraine has a bigger internal infiltration problem, or perhaps because Israelis are more disciplined or have more effective social pressure?

In any case, in turns out I was mistaken: apparently in UAE the wave of arrests are not framed as operational security, but a wider ban on information that could "spread misinformation", "cause panic", "affect national security", or "damage reputation". So it's a wider legal framework with more complicated implications - less of a no-brainer than I initially thought!

[−] jacquesm 43d ago
UAE has always been one of the more repressive government on the planet.
[−] abought 43d ago
So it's down to a contest of whether to trust the government of Iran, or a cloud vendor status page?

Maybe we can check something hosted in Oracle Cloud as the tiebreaker?

[−] tristanj 43d ago
No, most likely Iran actually launched missiles targeted at the Oracle datacenter, but they were intercepted. The UAE successfully intercepts about 90% of incoming Iranian drones and missiles.

Then Iran then claims the attack was successful for domestic propaganda purposes, and since there is no internet in Iran, nobody can verify if it was actually successful.

[−] Betelbuddy 41d ago
Something confirmed: "UAE Confirms Debris Fell on Oracle Building in Dubai" - https://sundayguardianlive.com/world/us-isreal-iran-war-late...
[−] risc_taker 43d ago
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[−] spwa4 43d ago
It's also a warcrime, of course. I wonder if, if they lied, is it still a warcrime? I would expect it is.

I guess we'll see what the consequences are to warcrimes. Massive worldwide demonstrations in favor of the people committing warcrimes, like usually?

[−] cogman10 43d ago
What motivation would Iran have to not commit war crimes?

It's not as if the US and Israel are restraining themselves from committing war crimes. Certainly the UN isn't going to step in and do anything.

This war started with the US committing a war crime (blowing up a girl's school).

[−] sthkr 43d ago
Datacenters aren't categorized for warcrimes. Desalination plants, water treatment plants, power plants, etc. would be highly significant for millions of the population.
[−] tharmas 43d ago
Are there any military personnel working at the Oracle Facility? Big Tech is very much used in this War so not a stretch to imagine military personnel working there.

Apparently the hotels that were struck in Dubai etc were attacked because US military personnel were working remotely there due to US bases being damaged.

[−] whynotmaybe 43d ago
Outside of the countries involved, Is it really a war crime though?

If Oracle's providing services to your enemy's army aren't they a "legitimate" target just like a tank factory?

[−] sthkr 43d ago
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[−] aaron695 43d ago
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