Amazon Data Centers in Bahrain and UAE Remain Down for Months After Iranian Strikes
May 3, 2026
Amazon Data Centers in Bahrain and UAE Remain Down for Months After Iranian Strikes
Amazon’s cloud infrastructure in the Middle East has suffered significant damage following a series of drone and missile strikes attributed to Iran, leaving two major AWS data centers in Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates offline for months. The attacks, which began in early March 2026 shortly after the U.S. launched a bombing campaign against Iran, have disrupted operations at the ME-CENTRAL-1 and ME-SOUTH-1 availability zones, with Amazon warning customers that full recovery will take several months.
The strikes have not been isolated incidents. After the initial hit in March, the AWS Bahrain facility was struck again by drones a few weeks later, further compounding the damage. The most recent attack occurred in early April, placing several zones into a “hard down” status. While some workloads continue to function, Amazon has strongly urged customers to migrate all accessible resources to other regions and restore inaccessible data from remote backups. The company has also suspended billing for affected services during the restoration period.
Beyond the direct impact of the strikes, the damage has been exacerbated by secondary effects. Shockwaves from the explosions, post-strike fires, and the activation of fire suppression systems have caused flooding and water damage to sensitive equipment. Cooling systems have also suffered mechanical failures, adding to the complexity of the repair effort. Amazon noted that the ongoing chip shortages could further delay repairs, as the company may struggle to source replacement components unless it has backup servers ready in its inventory.
The geopolitical situation remains precarious. The U.S. and Iran are currently observing an uneasy truce while engaging in negotiations to end the conflict. However, hostilities could resume at any time if talks break down, creating a risky environment for Amazon to begin repair work. Until a lasting peace is secured, the company’s ability to restore full operations in the region remains uncertain, leaving customers reliant on AWS services in the Middle East facing prolonged disruptions.
Source: tomshardware
