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AWS Bahrain suffers major disruption due to the ongoing US-Iran conflict — drone activity blamed for service interruption
The AWS Health Dashboard reports that multiple services in the Bahrain region are experiencing operational issues and disruption. Multiple AWS sites have been hit in the Middle East since the beginning of the conflict, including two confirmed strikes in the UAE. The Bahrain site also experienced a drone strike in close proximity at that time, meaning this is the second time that the company’s services have been disrupted in the area. AWS attributed the disruption to drone activity in the area, with the company saying that it's helping affected clients move to AWS data centers that aren’t affected by the war.
“The AWS Bahrain Region has been disrupted as a result of the ongoing conflict. We are working closely with local authorities and prioritizing the safety of our personnel throughout our recovery efforts,” an AWS spokesperson told Tom’s Hardware. “We continue to support affected customers, helping them to migrate to alternate AWS Regions, with a large number already successfully operating their applications from other parts of the world. As this situation evolves, and, as we have advised before, we request those with workloads in the affected regions continue to migrate to other locations.”
Although AWS did not confirm that the Bahrain site had been directly struck by a drone, which is what happened to two AWS facilities in the UAE, the possibility that the current disruption has been caused by a strike cannot be ruled out. This would clearly be destructive to the site — aside from the damaged structure, the shock from an explosion could devastate the sensitive electronics found inside data servers, as well as disrupt power delivery and even activate fire suppression systems, leading to water damage to multiple units.
This is likely costly for AWS: aside from having to allocate resources from other regions for displaced clients that were served by the Bahrain site, the company will have to shoulder the cost of any repairs or maintenance at the affected site, as most insurance policies usually do not cover acts of war. It’s for this reason that many companies in the region are declaring “force majeure,” saying that they’re unable to fulfill their obligations due to the risk brought about by the conflict.
The conflict between the U.S., Israel, and Iran is about to reach a month, and, at the moment, there seems to be no end in sight. And even if the hostilities end today, it will take months, if not years, before the industry can repair the damage and get production back to pre-conflict levels and ease the shortages seen today.
Jowi Morales is a tech enthusiast with years of experience working in the industry. He’s been writing with several tech publications since 2021, where he’s been interested in tech hardware and consumer electronics.
