AWS Confirms Permanent Customer Data Loss in Bahrain Region and UAE Zone After Iranian Strikes

AWS said in a September 15, 2026 Health Dashboard update that data hosted exclusively in its Bahrain me-south-1 region and the UAE me-central-1 availability zone mec1-az2 is permanently unrecoverable following Iranian strikes that began in March 2026.…

Amazon Web Services announced on September 15, 2026 that it cannot restore customer data hosted exclusively in its Middle East (Bahrain) region (me-south-1) or in availability zone mec1-az2 of its Middle East (UAE) region (me-central-1). The strikes, which began in March 2026 — early March 2026 according to Help Net Security — followed a joint US-Israeli military campaign; one source describes missile and drone strikes, another only drone strikes. Gulf states hosting US military bases, including Bahrain and the UAE, were targeted. Damage in Bahrain spanned multiple availability zones, exceeding what AWS regional and multi-AZ redundancy is designed to withstand; a second UAE-zone disruption in April took Bahrain fully offline at one point. Only customers without backups outside the affected footprint lost data permanently — most had already relocated using backups or alternative solutions — and Help Net Security notes this is the first reported permanent cloud data loss caused by military action. AWS has suspended regional billing, notified authorities in both countries, and expects a UAE restoration update in coming months and a Bahrain update in early 2027.

• AWS announced on September 15, 2026 that some customer data is permanently unrecoverable
• Affected: the entire me-south-1 (Middle East, Bahrain) region and availability zone mec1-az2 of me-central-1 (Middle East, UAE)
• Iranian strikes began in March 2026; Help Net Security reports early March 2026, in retaliation for a joint US-Israeli military campaign
• Sources differ on the strikes: Cyber Security News says missile and drone strikes; Help Net Security says drone strikes
• Bahrain damage spanned multiple availability zones, exceeding AWS regional and multi-AZ redundancy design
• A second UAE-zone disruption in April took Bahrain fully offline at one point
• Only customers without backups outside the affected footprint lost data permanently; most customers had already relocated using backups or alternatives
• Help Net Security calls this the first reported permanent cloud data loss caused by military action