diff --git a/cloudbuild/run_zonal_tests.sh b/cloudbuild/run_zonal_tests.sh
index 22ca8fe4b..2d42ce6d5 100644
--- a/cloudbuild/run_zonal_tests.sh
+++ b/cloudbuild/run_zonal_tests.sh
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ pip install -e .
 echo '--- Setting up environment variables on VM ---'
 export ZONAL_BUCKET=${_ZONAL_BUCKET}
 export RUN_ZONAL_SYSTEM_TESTS=True
+export GCE_METADATA_MTLS_MODE=None
 CURRENT_ULIMIT=$(ulimit -n)
 echo '--- Running Zonal tests on VM with ulimit set to ---' $CURRENT_ULIMIT
 pytest -vv -s --log-format='%(asctime)s %(levelname)s %(message)s' --log-date-format='%H:%M:%S' tests/system/test_zonal.py