Amazon Web Services (AWS) has been unable to fully restore access to its cloud infrastructure in Bahrain and one of its three data-hosting zones in the United Arab Emirates after the facilities were damaged during the ongoing conflict involving Iran, according to a report by Reuters cited by Hindustan Times.
The disruption has affected customers relying on AWS infrastructure in the Gulf region and has forced some businesses to move their workloads to other AWS regions while recovery efforts continue.
AWS said the damage to its Bahrain infrastructure affected multiple “Availability Zones”. These are groups of one or more data centres located within the same geographic region and are designed to provide redundancy and help services continue operating even if one facility experiences problems.
However, the scale of the damage in Bahrain was reportedly greater than what AWS's normal regional and multi-Availability Zone protection systems were designed to handle.
“The damage to our infrastructure spanned multiple Availability Zones and exceeded what our regional and multi-AZ services are designed to withstand,” AWS said in an update.
The company said it was assisting customers in Bahrain with re-establishing their operations in other AWS regions. This means businesses affected by the disruption may need to temporarily or permanently shift applications and data away from the impacted facilities.
The incident is linked to wider damage to cloud infrastructure in the Gulf during the Middle East conflict. AWS facilities in both Bahrain and the UAE have previously been affected by incidents connected to the fighting.
In the UAE, one AWS data centre experienced a power outage after unidentified objects struck the facility. The incident reportedly caused sparks and triggered a fire. Emergency crews switched off power to the facility and its generators as they worked to contain the situation.
AWS subsequently confirmed that one of its UAE Availability Zones had been affected and said traffic was being redirected to other facilities. At the time, the company did not provide a specific estimate for when power would be restored.
The Bahrain facility was also reportedly targeted. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed responsibility for an attack on an AWS building in Bahrain. The claim came after Iran had warned that US companies operating in the Gulf could become targets amid the escalating conflict.
Bahrain's Interior Ministry had earlier said civil defence teams were responding to a fire at a company facility following what authorities described as an Iranian attack.
The incidents highlight the vulnerability of critical digital infrastructure during armed conflicts. Cloud computing facilities have become essential for governments, financial institutions, technology companies and businesses that depend on uninterrupted access to applications and data.
AWS operates data-centre clusters across multiple regions around the world. Its infrastructure is designed to allow customers to distribute workloads across different facilities and geographic regions. However, the Bahrain disruption demonstrates that large-scale physical damage can still affect services despite built-in redundancy.
For customers operating in the affected areas, AWS has advised shifting workloads to alternative regions where possible. The company continues to work on recovery, although the extent of the damage means restoration could take time.
The incident also raises broader questions about the security and resilience of data centres located in strategically important but conflict-prone regions. As more businesses move their operations to cloud platforms, protecting the physical infrastructure behind those services has become increasingly important.
For now, AWS customers in Bahrain and the affected UAE zone face continued uncertainty as the company works to restore normal operations and help businesses maintain access through alternative cloud regions.
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