Amazon Web Services said it cannot recover specific customer data from its Bahrain and UAE server facilities.

  • Cloud giant Amazon confirmed it cannot restore customer data stored solely in its Bahrain facilities and parts of its United Arab Emirates network following the US-Iran war attacks. 
  • The data centers sustained heavy damage early in the US-Iran war, with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps explicitly targeting the Bahrain site in retaliation for Amazon's support of US military operations. 
  • Amazon engineers are still attempting to salvage resources in two other affected UAE availability zones.

Amazon’s (AMZN) cloud services unit, Amazon Web Services (AWS), has suffered permanent data loss at several of its Middle Eastern server facilities as a direct result of the ongoing US-Iran conflict.

AWS noted that it has failed to regain access to data hosted exclusively at its data centers in Bahrain and specific network portions in the United Arab Emirates. 

The update posted to the AWS health dashboard further revealed that military drone strikes caused severe structural impairment, power disruptions, and subsequent water damage from fire suppression efforts across both regions.

AMZN stock slipped about 2% on Tuesday. 

AWS Facilities Targeted

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) took responsibility for the strikes on the Bahrain server farms, stating that the attacks were a direct response to Amazon’s logistical and technological support for US military forces.

Two separate AWS data centers in Bahrain took direct hits, causing catastrophic damage that far exceeded the structural resilience the facilities were built to withstand. The initial bombardments occurred in March, followed by additional strikes in April that effectively paralyzed Amazon's data network within the nation.

After the spring attacks, most of Amazon's cloud computing clients moved their digital workloads to alternative international server farms. In the UAE, many businesses restored operations by relying on external backups or copying data that survived the initial drone strikes.

Next Steps For The Region

While the UAE region is currently deemed unable to reliably support applications, AWS has suspended local billing operations and advised clients to immediately migrate remaining accessible resources out of the Middle East. 

Despite the setback, Amazon stressed its ongoing commitment to its Middle Eastern customer base and promised a comprehensive update on the Bahrain facilities early next year. The tech giant also continues to operate intact data center networks in India, Israel, and several European countries.

AMZN Stock: Retail View  

Retail sentiment on Stocktwits was ‘bearish’ with ‘normal’ message volumes. The tech-heavy QQQ ETF was in the ‘extremely bearish’ zone. 

AMZN stock has gained about 7% year-to-date. 

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