CIA officer spied on UAE AI firm while steering it toward U.S. approval

Gannon’s dual spy-and-fixer role fueled internal U.S. debate

Jonny Gannon, a longtime CIA operative with a rank equivalent to an Army two-star general, arrived in Abu Dhabi in 2023 on a commercial flight, sliding into a fake U.S. Embassy job that concealed his true position as CIA station chief, according to the Journal. His mission, personally directed by the agency’s director, William Burns, was to determine whether Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan could be trusted with some of America’s most advanced AI chips.

The UAE, through its state-backed AI champion G42, was seeking to import Nvidia’s most advanced chips. Washington had learned from intercepted communications that China was aiming to use its relationship with G42 to steal American technology and AI algorithms, according to people familiar with the matter. G42’s chief executive, Peng Xiao, had renounced his American citizenship, a prerequisite for acceptance into the Emirati government’s inner circle.

Instead of stealing information in the shadows, Gannon was tasked with courting a foreign commercial player poised to be at the center of a new global scramble for power, the Journal reported. He ended up both spying on G42 and helping the UAE clean up the troubling issues he discovered, according to accounts of his activities.

Gannon’s dual role roiled the U.S. national security community. His supporters, often officials who helped wage the global war on terror and remembered Abu Dhabi’s assistance in fighting Islamic State, saw his outreach as necessary to reward a critical security ally. On the other side were national security officials more focused on China, who feared America could be offshoring its most powerful new source of dominance to an adversary. They believed Gannon had “gone native” and was helping set the stage for America to surrender its advantage, according to the Journal.

The debate over G42 fueled more rancor among Biden policymakers than almost any other issue, some former administration officials told the Journal.

Intelligence reports of G42’s China connections kept flowing to Gannon, according to people familiar with the matter. Several company staffers, the CIA learned, were in touch with Chinese state-owned companies. Gannon met with Xiao and delivered a message: Washington was very concerned about G42 but the station chief could be an open-minded conduit. The two grew close, sharing a taste for expensive liquor and Greek philosophy, as Gannon helped the CEO understand U.S. concerns.

When spying operations revealed evidence that appeared to contradict Xiao’s commitment to cut China ties, Gannon gave quiet hints about the issues to Xiao or UAE officials such as Tahnoon, the people said. The CIA would soon find the issues had disappeared. The company put together a slide deck that said it had removed $150 million worth of Huawei equipment from its systems.

The dispute came to a head in June 2024 when Tahnoon visited Washington, with Gannon in tow. At a meeting at Tahnoon’s McLean, Virginia mansion, Xiao gave a presentation on Chinese AI technology being developed by DeepSeek that he said would pose an imminent threat to American dominance without G42’s help, according to people with direct knowledge. The presentation drove the Americans to openly lambast each other. Seven months later, when DeepSeek was released, its advances caused tech stocks to plummet.

A week before Biden left office, his team put in place the framework for the Emiratis to access chips. The Trump administration has since expanded the UAE’s access to AI chips. Last week, the administration announced it was temporarily lifting caps on G42’s access to U.S. chips, a major win for the country and for Tahnoon.

Days before Trump’s inauguration, Tahnoon and co-investors committed to a $500 million investment into Trump’s crypto company, World Liberty Financial. A person familiar with the matter said the investment wasn’t discussed with Trump and that Tahnoon is a “significant investor” in crypto businesses. The White House has denied conflicts of interest, and World Liberty has said the investment had nothing to do with the administration.

According to the Journal, Gannon, who left the CIA last year, has maintained his relationships in the UAE, traveling there frequently to make introductions between American executives and Emirati security officials. The report also stated that he has helped national security contractors win consulting contracts with Emirati security services and court another prospective client: G42.