Amazon Web Services (AWS) has said it will not be able to restore access to certain cloud resources and data hosted in Bahrain Cloud Services , more than six months after drone strikes damaged its facilities during the early stages of the Iran war.
In an update posted to the AWS Health Dashboard on Tuesday, the company said an assessment of multiple affected sites in Bahrain found that the damage exceeded the level its infrastructure was designed to withstand.
“After a thorough assessment,” AWS said it had determined that it was unable to restore access to resources and data hosted exclusively in the affected region. The announcement represents AWS’ first public update on the Bahrain incidents since April.
UAE Facilities Also Remain Affected
AWS also provided an update on its facilities in the United Arab Emirates. The company said it has been unable to recover resources and data stored in one affected availability zone in the country. Two other UAE availability zones were also damaged, but AWS said recovery efforts for those facilities are continuing.
Amazon had disclosed in March that two of its UAE data centers were directly hit by drone strikes, while a facility in Bahrain Cloud Services sustained damage from a nearby strike. At the time, the company advised customers to move workloads to other AWS regions and warned that instability across the Middle East could make operations unpredictable.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps later claimed responsibility for the attacks, saying the Bahrain facility had been targeted because of Amazon’s alleged support for the U.S. military.
Bahrain Cloud Services Attacks Raise Questions Over Gulf Data Centers
The prolonged disruption has added to concerns about the physical security and resilience of data centers being developed across the Gulf. Countries in the region have been attracting major investments in cloud and artificial intelligence infrastructure as demand for computing capacity accelerates.
The UAE’s planned Stargate AI campus, involving OpenAI, Nvidia, Oracle and Cisco, is one prominent example. The project was initially expected to reach 5 gigawatts of capacity across a 10-square-mile site.
Reuters reported that the UAE is now considering dispersing the project across multiple locations and strengthening protection through measures such as underground facilities, blast-resistant concrete, and drone and missile interception systems.
AWS said it remains committed to customers in Bahrain and the UAE. The company expects to provide further information about the UAE facilities in the coming months, while Bahrain customers are expected to receive another update in early 2027.
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