Pure Data Centre, backed by Oaktree, has suspended investment decisions on its Middle East data centre pipeline as the Iran war unsettles supply chains, raises oil prices and increases risks to infrastructure assets.

Chief executive officer Gary Wojtaszek told CNBC that the pause covers all of the company’s planned data centre developments in the region.

He said that “no one wants to develop new data centres and put new GPUs in until things get settled”.

Wojtaszek said Pure DC’s site on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi was struck by shrapnel during an Iranian attack.

He also told CNBC that AWS infrastructure in the UAE and Bahrain was hit by Iranian drones in March, causing service interruptions that affected banking, payments, and business and consumer platforms.

Pure DC operates in the UAE and had been preparing to expand into Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

While investment decisions are currently paused, the company said it is still carrying out longer-term planning and continuing discussions related to regional projects.

Wojtaszek said the Middle East remains a “long-term opportunity” and is still commercially significant for the business.

The decision comes after a period of substantial spending in the region by governments, hyperscalers and data centre developers, driven by the Gulf’s comparatively lower-cost land and power as part of broader AI infrastructure plans.

On the operational side, Pure DC is reviewing the possibility of managing facilities remotely through electronic systems.

The company has also given non-essential staff the option to relocate with their families and has introduced additional welfare measures for employees who remain in the region.

In a separate development, Pure DC said in December that it would invest more than €1bn ($1.17bn) in the Netherlands to build a 78MW data centre campus in Westpoort, Amsterdam.

The Amsterdam campus has been fully leased to a hyperscale customer. Pure DC said this was the largest stand-alone hyperscale data centre lease in Europe in 2025.

The company secured the site through a long leasehold agreement with the Port of Amsterdam, received planning consent and arranged 100MVA of power through a private substation.