Amazon has confirmed that its Amazon Web Services region in Bahrain has been hit by a disruption linked to drone activity in the area, amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. The company said it is helping customers move their workloads to alternate AWS regions while recovery efforts continue.
Amazon did not share specific operational details but confirmed it is working to restore services as quickly as possible. The development comes after a series of similar incidents that have raised serious questions about the safety of cloud infrastructure in the region.
How Earlier Drone Strikes Damaged AWS Data Centres In UAE & Bahrain
This is not the first time Amazon's regional infrastructure has come under threat. On March 3, AWS data centres in the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain were damaged by drone strikes, disrupting cloud services and making recovery "prolonged."
Two UAE facilities were directly hit, while a drone strike near a Bahrain facility caused physical damage to infrastructure. "These strikes have caused structural damage, disrupted power delivery to our infrastructure, and in some cases required fire suppression activities that resulted in additional water damage," AWS said in a status update cited by Reuters.
AWS said it was working to restore full service availability but expected recovery to take longer due to the physical damage involved. Several AWS services were affected, with customers advised to back up critical data and shift operations to unaffected regions.
Financial institutions using AWS infrastructure were also among those impacted, according to one person with knowledge of the situation who spoke to Reuters. Amazon has acknowledged that the operating environment in the Middle East remains unpredictable.
Bahrain Tables UN Resolution Over Strait Of Hormuz Shipping Threats
Separately, Bahrain has put forward a draft United Nations Security Council resolution that would authorise countries to use "all necessary means" to protect commercial shipping in and around the Strait of Hormuz.
The proposal describes Iran's actions as a threat to international peace and security, and calls on the country to stop attacks on merchant and commercial vessels and stop interfering with freedom of navigation in the waterway. The Strait of Hormuz is a critical global shipping route, carrying about a fifth of global oil supplies.
The draft is backed by Gulf Arab states and the United States, but diplomats told Reuters it is unlikely to pass because Russia and China could veto it. The text also expresses readiness to impose measures including targeted sanctions, and falls under Chapter Seven of the UN Charter, which allows the Security Council to authorise actions ranging from sanctions to the use of force.
Separately, three US officials told Reuters that 2,500 Marines, along with the USS Boxer amphibious assault ship and accompanying warships, would deploy to the region, though their specific role has not been detailed.