Amazon Confirms Damage to AWS Centres in Dubai, Bahrain in 'Internal Memo' After Iranian Strikes
According to an internal memo, the impacted AWS regions are currently reportedly “hard down", prompting the company to shift focus toward restoring services and assisting customers in migrating to alternative regions.
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.
According to an internal memo, the impacted AWS regions are currently reportedly “hard down", prompting the company to shift focus toward restoring services and assisting customers in migrating to alternative regions.
Services ‘impaired’, normal operations unlikely soon
In its internal communication, Amazon reportedly indicated that both the Dubai and Bahrain regions are still facing major operational challenges.
“These two regions continue to be impaired, and services should not expect to be operating with normal levels of redundancy and resiliency,” the memo stated.
The company has asked teams to deprioritise these regions and instead focus on minimising service footprint while supporting customer migration to other AWS locations.
Amazon said it is actively working to free up capacity in unaffected regions to ensure continuity of services for clients.
“We are actively working to free and reserve as much capacity as possible… and services should be scaled to the minimal footprint required to support customer migration,” the memo added.
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.
Bahrain facility hit amid ongoing conflict
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.
The country’s interior ministry said civil defence teams were deployed to manage the situation and ensure safety at the affected site.
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.
Rising risks for global tech firms in West Asia
The attack comes amid escalating tensions in West Asia, with Iran’s Revolutionary Guards reportedly warning that American technology companies operating in the region could be potential targets.
Firms such as Google, Microsoft, Apple, Meta, Tesla and others were named in reports as possible targets in the broader conflict.
This marks at least the second instance of Amazon’s cloud infrastructure being affected since the conflict intensified, with earlier strikes also damaging AWS facilities in the UAE.
Amazon says it is working closely with local authorities while prioritising the safety of its personnel and infrastructure.
The company continues to focus on maintaining service continuity for customers through rapid migration and global capacity redistribution as recovery efforts progress.
This marked the second time the war had impacted the company's operations. An Amazon spokesperson told Reuters that the disruption was due to ‘drone activity’ in the area.
Published By : Vanshika Punera
Published On: 4 April 2026 at 18:53 IST