AWS Abandons Restoration Efforts for Damaged Gulf Cloud Infrastructure

Amazon's cloud computing division, Amazon Web Services (AWS), has officially given up on restoring its Bahrain and UAE cloud infrastructure after it was damaged in Iranian military strikes in March 2026. The damage exceeded what the system was designed to withstand, with multiple availability zones incapacitated simultaneously.

AWS had instructed customers to relocate their operations to other regions immediately following the initial strike, and most were able to do so successfully. However, a second availability zone failure in April left the entire Bahrain region inoperative, rendering all data in the region permanently inaccessible.

The UAE situation is slightly better, with one availability zone remaining offline but recovery efforts continuing for the broader regional infrastructure. AWS will provide an update on UAE service restoration within several months, while affected parties must wait until early 2027 for further information on Bahrain's status.