Amazon has reportedly confirmed significant disruptions to its Amazon Web Services (AWS) data centres in Dubai and Bahrain following recent Iranian strikes, with operations expected to remain affected for an extended period.<\/p>\n
According to an internal memo, the impacted AWS regions are currently reportedly \u201chard down”, prompting the company to shift focus toward restoring services and assisting customers in migrating to alternative regions.<\/p>\n
Services \u2018impaired\u2019, normal operations unlikely soon <\/p>\n
In its internal communication, Amazon reportedly indicated that both the Dubai and Bahrain regions are still facing major operational challenges.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese two regions continue to be impaired, and services should not expect to be operating with normal levels of redundancy and resiliency,\u201d the memo stated.<\/p>\n
The company has asked teams to deprioritise these regions and instead focus on minimising service footprint while supporting customer migration to other AWS locations.<\/p>\n
Amazon said it is actively working to free up capacity in unaffected regions to ensure continuity of services for clients.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are actively working to free and reserve as much capacity as possible\u2026 and services should be scaled to the minimal footprint required to support customer migration,\u201d the memo added.<\/p>\n
In a blog post dated March 24, 2026, the company confirmed that several customers have already successfully shifted their operations to alternate AWS regions globally.<\/p>\n
Bahrain facility hit amid ongoing conflict <\/p>\n
Earlier reports indicated that AWS infrastructure in Bahrain suffered damage following Iranian military strikes, with local authorities responding to a fire at a company facility.<\/p>\n
The country\u2019s interior ministry said civil defence teams were deployed to manage the situation and ensure safety at the affected site.<\/p>\n
Amazon later acknowledged that its Bahrain region had been disrupted due to ongoing conflict, with an earlier statement attributing the disruption to drone activity in the area.<\/p>\n
Rising risks for global tech firms in West Asia <\/p>\n
The attack comes amid escalating tensions in West Asia, with Iran\u2019s Revolutionary Guards reportedly warning that American technology companies operating in the region could be potential targets.<\/p>\n
Firms such as Google, Microsoft, Apple, Meta, Tesla and others were named in reports as possible targets in the broader conflict.<\/p>\n
This marks at least the second instance of Amazon\u2019s cloud infrastructure being affected since the conflict intensified, with earlier strikes also damaging AWS facilities in the UAE.<\/p>\n
Amazon says it is working closely with local authorities while prioritising the safety of its personnel and infrastructure.<\/p>\n
The company continues to focus on maintaining service continuity for customers through rapid migration and global capacity redistribution as recovery efforts progress.<\/p>\n
This marked the second time the war had impacted the company’s operations. An Amazon spokesperson told Reuters that the disruption was due to \u2018drone activity\u2019 in the area.<\/p>\n