Iran Strikes Amazon Data Center in Bahrain, Disrupting Cloud Services

An Amazon Web Services (AWS) data center in Bahrain has been damaged following a strike attributed to Iran. The incident marks the third reported attack on high-tech infrastructure by Iran, leading to operational disruptions.

According to reports, the cloud computing facility of the American tech giant was hit. While Iranian media claimed the data center was "destroyed," this has not been independently confirmed. Bahrain's Interior Ministry earlier stated that civil defense teams were extinguishing a fire at a company facility following what authorities described as an Iranian attack.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) had previously declared 18 major U.S. Technology companies as "legitimate military targets" in retaliation for actions it attributes to the United States. Although Amazon was not explicitly named on a recent list that included Microsoft, Google, Apple, and Meta, IRGC drones reportedly struck two AWS data centers in the United Arab Emirates earlier in March.

In response to the damage, AWS is advising affected customers to activate their disaster recovery plans. The company recommends restoring data from remote backups stored in other regions and updating applications to redirect traffic away from the impacted area.

AWS has updated its service health dashboard to detail the ongoing disruptions at its Bahrain facility. In its latest communication on the matter, the cloud provider urged customers with workloads in the Middle East to migrate to alternative AWS regions. For those seeking guidance, AWS strongly suggests considering its U.S.-based regions, despite acknowledging Iran's deliberate targeting of American technology companies.