Archive · 17 Sep 2026
AWS Reports Permanent Data Loss After Iran-Damaged Gulf Facilities
Amazon Web Services runs computer facilities that other companies use to store data and operate online services.
Some of these facilities in Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates were damaged during fighting involving Iran.
AWS said some customers cannot get back data stored only in the damaged locations.
In Bahrain, the damage affected several backup areas at the same time.
In the UAE, at least one important Availability Zone remains inaccessible, although one report said two of three zones were lost.
Many customers moved their work to other AWS regions or used backups.
AWS is replacing some UAE equipment and studying how to recover the Bahrain region.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard claimed responsibility, but Amazon and authorities did not confirm that claim.
AWS said facilities in Bahrain and the UAE were damaged during attacks linked to the Iran conflict.
The company said some data and resources hosted only at affected facilities cannot be restored.
Bahrain damage spread across multiple Availability Zones and exceeded AWS’s expected regional resilience design.
AWS said the UAE’s mec1-az2 is inaccessible; another report said two of the region’s three zones were lost.
Most affected customers shifted workloads or restored backups elsewhere, while AWS continues recovery and infrastructure replacement.
- Who
- Amazon Web Services, its customers, and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which claimed responsibility for the strikes.
- What
- Cloud facilities in Bahrain and the UAE were damaged, leaving some resources inaccessible and some exclusively stored data reportedly unrecoverable.
- When
- The disruption began in early March; Bahrain experienced a further outage in April, and AWS issued an update on Tuesday. AWS said it would provide more Bahrain information in early 2027.
- Where
- AWS facilities in Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates.
- Why
- The damage occurred during a conflict involving US and Israeli attacks on Iran and subsequent Iranian missile and drone attacks on Israel and Gulf states hosting US military bases.
AWS and Unconfirmed Official Account
Iranian Revolutionary Guard Claim
Responsibility for the damage
AWS and Unconfirmed Official Account
AWS confirmed physical damage and service disruption but did not attribute the damage to a specific attack in its update. Amazon and the cited authorities did not confirm the IRGC’s claim.
Iranian Revolutionary Guard Claim
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed it attacked and destroyed AWS’s central data infrastructure in Bahrain with cruise missiles, reportedly citing Amazon’s ties to US military operations.
Extent of the UAE damage
AWS and Unconfirmed Official Account
AWS identified one inaccessible UAE Availability Zone, mec1-az2, while saying recovery continued in the broader region and other zones.
Iranian Revolutionary Guard Claim
A Wall Street Journal report said the UAE region lost two of its three Availability Zones.
Cloud resilience
AWS and Unconfirmed Official Account
AWS said Bahrain damage across multiple Availability Zones exceeded what its regional and multi-zone services were designed to withstand; it helped customers move workloads and restore backups.
Iranian Revolutionary Guard Claim
The incident raised concerns about the vulnerability of cloud infrastructure in conflict zones and the resilience of Gulf data-center investments.
- Affected locations
- Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates
- Bahrain impact
- Damage spread across multiple Availability Zones and later caused the Bahrain region to go offline.
- UAE impact
- AWS said it cannot restore resources and data hosted exclusively in Availability Zone mec1-az2; a WSJ report said two of three UAE zones were lost.
- Data loss
- AWS told customers that some data stored exclusively in the affected Bahrain and UAE facilities cannot be recovered.
- Customer response
- Most affected customers moved workloads to other AWS regions or restored backups.
- Recovery plans
- AWS is replacing affected UAE infrastructure and continuing recovery efforts; it said an update would come in the coming months.
- Responsibility claim
- Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed it attacked AWS infrastructure in Bahrain, but Amazon and Bahrain and US authorities did not confirm the claim.
