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In early July, a video was shared on the X social network, which was presented as a military threat issued by Iran. The posts claimed that Iran was preparing to respond to US actions, and that the Firebird company\u2019s artificial intelligence data center being built near Hrazdan in Armenia could become a target for attacks.<\/p>\n
The authors of the video presented the center not as a technological infrastructure, but as a structure supporting US military operations. The posts even claimed that the center provides the US with target detection data.<\/p>\n
To verify these claims, we examined the sources of the video\u2019s distribution, information published by Firebird and Armenian state bodies, as well as available open sources about the significance of the data center.<\/p>\n
\nKey Conclusion:<\/b> The main claims of the spreading story are not confirmed<\/b>. The video was not presented by official Iranian sources, and there is no public evidence to present the Firebird center as a US military intelligence or targeting infrastructure.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Understanding the Allegations<\/h3>\n
The video shared on X talks about US actions and their possible consequences. In the notes accompanying the video, the Firebird AI center located near the city of Hrazdan in Armenia is presented as an infrastructure serving the US. One of the notes states that the center belongs to the American company Firebird and, allegedly, provides \u201ctarget detection data\u201d for US military operations.<\/p>\n
This formulation is key, because it no longer simply conveys information about the center, but attributes a specific military function to it. However, such a claim requires at least one piece of verifiable evidence: an official document, a company description, a contract, or another reliable source that would confirm that the center is actually engaged in providing US military intelligence or targeting. In the open sources we examined, such evidence was not found.<\/p>\n
Real Infrastructure vs. Invented Military Function<\/h3>\n
Firebird, in partnership with NVIDIA and the Armenian government, is building a large-scale artificial intelligence computing infrastructure in Hrazdan:<\/p>\n
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Capacity & Hardware:<\/b> The Ministry of High-Tech Industry of Armenia announced back in June that the first phase of the project plans to create an AI data center with a capacity of about 18 megawatts, with computing systems based on the NVIDIA Blackwell architecture. It was planned to install 6,144 GPUs.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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Project Purpose:<\/b> Firebird describes the center as designed for large-scale AI workloads, such as model training and inference. The company describes it as an AI infrastructure that allows customers to leverage the computing power of NVIDIA GPUs.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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Government Agreement:<\/b> In April, the Ministry of High-Tech Industry of Armenia and Firebird signed a $25 million resource acquisition agreement to build high-performance computing infrastructure over five years.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
In other words, the existence of the data center, the connection with the American company, and NVIDIA’s participation in the project are real facts. However, none of this official information confirms that the Hrazdan center is collecting intelligence data or identifying targets for US military operations. Firebird’s public presentations focus entirely on AI model training, capacity provision for tech companies, and infrastructure for researchers and organizations. Therefore, there is no basis for presenting the claim that “the center provides targeting data to the US” as fact.<\/p>\n
Unmasking the “Iranian Origin” Claim<\/h3>\n
The other important part of the story being spread is that the video is presented as material published by Iran. However, here too, it is necessary to distinguish between two facts. Iran could have had statements or military threats regarding US actions. That in itself does not mean that the video in question is an official Iranian production or that the information presented in it about the Armenian AI Center comes from Iranian state structures.<\/p>\n
In the case of the shared video, the public trail leads to accounts operating on X. One of them is Roaa War Studies<\/b>, which had shared the video as military and geopolitical content. After the video was published, it was shared on more than 20 other X accounts. Studies show that the video portrayed the Armenian AI Center as an infrastructure serving US military operations. Thus, the wording “Iranian video” in itself is not evidence of its official origin.<\/p>\n
Targeted Disinformation Campaigns: CopyCop & Storm-1516<\/h3>\n
In addition to the content of the video, it is also important to understand who and what kind of networks distribute it in the information environment. The international research group Insikt Group<\/b>, which is the research division of Recorded Future, studied the infrastructure behind the creation and distribution of these materials.<\/p>\n
According to the Insikt Group, the Firebird AI center has become one of the targets of the Russian influence network CopyCop<\/b>, which researchers link to Storm-1516<\/b>. Research records at least three separate disinformation campaigns between June 24 and July 13, 2026, directed against the center under construction in Hrazdan. The three stories were different, but had a common goal: to question the project’s security, economic viability, and cooperation with Armenia’s Western partners.<\/p>\n
Broader research by DFRLab<\/b> also documents that Storm-1516 has conducted coordinated information influence campaigns against Armenia using fake stories, fake websites, and social media accounts, examining dozens of similar campaigns.<\/p>\n
\nContextual Caution:<\/b> The fact that a given account has been linked to disinformation campaigns in the past does not in itself prove that the same organizer is behind each post. That connection should be presented as context for dissemination, not as an unverified final accusation.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Previous Fake Stories Surrounding the Center<\/h3>\n
The Firebird Center has been at the center of disinformation stories before. According to a study by FIP<\/b>, during the same period:<\/p>\n
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Fake Earthquake Warning:<\/b> A claim was spread that a 7.4 magnitude earthquake was expected at the construction site to destroy the project. The campaign used a fake website imitating TechCrunch<\/i> and an AI-generated video.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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Power Grid Collapse Narrative:<\/b> Other publications framed the center around a potential collapse of the Armenian power grid or risks to investment.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
These stories are different, but share a common mechanism: a real project is taken as a base, and unconfirmed or completely invented information is added around it. A false story doesn’t have to be completely made up; it can be built on real facts with a fabricated cause-and-effect relationship inserted between them.<\/p>\n
Current Status of the Project<\/h3>\n
The materials distributed in July should be evaluated in the context of their publication timeline:<\/p>\n
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June\u2013July 2026:<\/b> As of early July, the center was in its final stages of construction. The Armenian Ministry of High-Tech Industry announced on June 5 that the official launch of the first phase was scheduled for July, entering the commissioning phase shortly after.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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August 8, 2026:<\/b> NVIDIA officially announced that Firebird has launched the largest AI Factory<\/b> in the CIS region in Armenia. The first phase includes an AI computing system with NVIDIA accelerators and Dell infrastructure, with plans to deploy more than 70,000 NVIDIA Rubin and Blackwell GPUs in Armenia by the end of 2027.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
While it would be incorrect to claim today that the center has not yet launched, this does not change the initial fact-check result: the existence of a deployed AI infrastructure does not prove that it is a US military targeting system.<\/p>\n
Conclusion<\/h3>\n
The effectiveness of a disinformation story relies on using real facts:<\/p>\n
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Firebird is an American company;<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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NVIDIA is involved in the project;<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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The center was built near Hrazdan;<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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The project is linked to the US through technological and investment relations;<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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A large GPU computing infrastructure is being created in Armenia.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
After establishing these facts, the disseminated material takes an unverified leap by attributing military significance to the center. However, an “American company” and “US military infrastructure” are not the same thing. Similarly, NVIDIA’s connection to the US tech ecosystem does not mean every NVIDIA data center in Armenia serves US military operations.<\/p>\n
Journalist:<\/b> Sargis Asatryan<\/p>\n
The material was prepared within the framework of the Disinformation Flows Monitoring Project<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n
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